United Methodist Church is a Connectional Church

/in /by

Our United Methodist Church is a connectional church. Every United Methodist congregation is interconnected to other churches throughout the denomination via a chain of area conferences. This is the opposite of the non-denominational or independent churches we see popping up out of the blue all around us. At the Mill Creek Fair there was a booth for the Redemption Church – I had to look it up. Canyon Creek Church recently purchased the only American Baptist Church on 35th. Like many of these churches Canyon Creek was started by a single person. On the Church website it says: “Canyon Creek Church started as a final graduate school project for Brandon.” Connections are not mentioned. In these church websites there is often a tab called Our Story – but as a historian I find the story short and lacking. It is simply about a person or small group of people on their own starting a church. Pretty consistently these churches are fundamentalist. They believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, exclusive salvation in Jesus Christ. Sometimes I wonder if the people who flock to these churches ever read the stated beliefs on the church websites? A teller at our bank, noting my check was from a church asked about our church and when I asked her where she went to church she said, “Blue Sky Church in Bellevue.” One day the lead pastor saw the blue sky come out of the clouds; an unusual and attractive name for essentially a Calvinist Church. They purport to believe in election: “We believe that God acted before creation in choosing some people to be saved.” Of course, this implies that most people are not saved. I wonder if the teller knows this. When these churches do have a deeper story they do not claim it; they don’t disclose their roots in the Reformation and John Calvin. This is reflective of our culture. Historical connections are often seen as a liability.

As a connectional church we may be counter-cultural but we are not counter-kingdom. (That is, Kingdom of God, Kin-dom of God, Economy of God, Rule of God, etc.) I’m quite sure that heaven is connectional. One of the problems in our society is an emphasis on the individual, independence and freedom at the expense of relationships and communities. In a sense, the election of Donald Trump is a product of these values. We have elected a person who is a narcissist! President Trump is critically concerned about himself more than anything else, especially the things that connect us. Naomi Klein has written a new book: No is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World we Need. She says that we respond to a Trump presidency as a united front; we must become more connected. People who are concerned about the environment, Black Lives Matter, abused women, people who are outraged by healthcare in America all need to recognize the ways we are hurting and fearful, and work together. I am encouraged by a resurgence of passion for better values like compassion, equality and justice. I want to believe that this energy can be used to bring another “Great Awakening” in America. And we have an important role in this as a connectional church.

In this context our connectional character is not merely how we are organized, it is a part of our message. To be connected is the way to create peace and justice; the way to mirror the Kingdom of God in our world. We want people to come to our Church because we are oriented toward that Kingdom in a way that more independent and non-denominational churches are not. We have an important mission in the world, especially now. We cannot be complacent or mum about it. How can we get our message out there? I think our booth at the Mill Creek Fair was a good thing to be doing. What else can we do to share with the world our vision of a connectional heaven?

P.Jim

A Winning Attitude

/in /by

Recently I’ve been following college NCAA baseball; the Oregon State Beavers are rated #1 in the country! It is exciting, anxiety provoking and ultimately… sinful. We often talk about having a “winning attitude” which can mean having a positive approach toward the game being played – but it isn’t just a positive approach to the game, it is restrictively attached to the results of the game, and when that is done things get problematic. Winning necessitates the defeat of the other. The experience of going through a losing season with a child who is playing a sport will tell one about the negative power attached to being the one often defeated. This is no simple matter in our culture. Sports are serious business – emotionally and economically. Winning brings power and losing brings shame. We don’t see it; how this dynamic of having a winning attitude becomes a sinning attitude.

This week David Brooks wrote an op-ed in which he quotes another op-ed written by H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn of the Trump Administration: “The President embarked on his first foreign trip with a clear-eyed outlook that the world is not a ‘global community’ but an arena where nations, nongovernmental actors and businesses engage and compete for advantage.” Brooks says that this sentence, essentially, exposes the “Trump project” as one of selfishness and competing for gain – that is, a winning attitude. I am upset with the Trump Administration for backing out of the Paris Accord on the environment for reasons I have often expresses – concern for the environment and future generations. But what also upsets me is the attitude that we must take care of ourselves regardless of others. Brooks says that Trump went to Europe and stuck his thumb in all of our allies. Brooks goes on to claim that people are “wired to cooperate.” I would say more than that, people are interdependent – inextricably connected to each other so that the actual path for success (winning?) is through cooperation.

My son Kenneth was signing up for classes in the fall at American University and one of them will be When Worldviews Collide, and that is what we have here: a winning attitude and a cooperating attitude. Let me quote a part of the Social Principles on Justice and Law:

Believing that internationally justice requires the participation of all peoples and nations, we endorse the United Nations, its related bodies…WE commend the efforts of all people in all countries who pursue world peace through law. We endorse international aid and cooperation on all matters of need and conflict….

These words are rooted in a cooperating attitude. A Christian worldview is a cooperating worldview. It uses words like invite, welcome, include, etc. Jesus even said “the last will be first and the first will be last.” Which worldview do we want to live by? How do we respond to a worldview based upon a winning attitude, when it means win at all cost – even at the cost of the planet?

This Sunday is Peace with Justice Sunday and there cannot be peace or justice if we live by a winning attitude. This isn’t about politics. This is about faith and discipleship – David Brooks will tell us that.

P.Jim

Shaking Things Up

/in /by

Confirmation class is underway. Last Saturday, the topic was Jesus and we talked about the different images of Jesus that we have. The starting point is the gospels – four of them in the canon. Each gospel presents an image of Jesus. The gospel writers were not writing history, they were telling the story of Jesus in order to evoke faith in their particular community. Therefore, each gospel is tailored to move their community in a specific circumstance. Before Constantine became Emperor of Rome there were many communities with various understandings and image of Jesus. Constantine did not want this diversity; if Christianity was to be the religion of the Empire it had to be uniform and united. Thus the creeds were born. But the creeds say little about Jesus. Though history different images of Jesus have come and gone (See Jaroslav Pelikan’s Jesus Through the Centuries).

I see our task is not to give these youth a single image to believe in, but it ignite in them the question about who Jesus was to these different communities, and what it means to follow him. The first three gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) are similar in structure and content; they are therefore called the “Synoptic Gospels.” The Gospel According to John is entirely different. Particularly in regard to the image of Jesus. In Mark, Jesus is truly struggling in the Garden of Gethsemane – please take this cup, but if it’s your will… In John’s picture of that scene Jesus is in total control, saying that this is all happening as he had planned it. Mark’s Jesus is more human and John’s is more divine. In the Synoptic Gospels there is a sense in which the future remains unknown, that Jesus had a real choice – things were in process. In John’s gospel everything is foreordained. Depending on which of these images one uses following Jesus will be different.

I grew up believing in the plan; I didn’t really think about it much, but it seemed as though that’s what everyone else believed. Historically, in America the Gospel According to John has become dominant, in that the image of Jesus in John is assumed as is the concept of Jesus being divine. My image of Jesus changed by the time I was in college, when I really read and studied the Bible. I was moved by Marcus Borg’s understanding of Jesus as one who shook things up. I also remember reading Paul Tillich’s book, Shaking the Foundations about the prophet’s role of challenging the powers that be. Jesus was one who subverted the conventional wisdom and challenged the powers and because he did that he was crucified as a political agitator.

In our last Adult Sunday School class somehow we got to talking about “shaking things up.” Part of the discussion surrounded the response of people to the proposed American Healthcare Act; the response influenced the decision, some said. I believe that part of following Jesus is being a trouble maker… but being a trouble maker in the name of Jesus. Usually if we go to a rally, or call a legislature or write a letter of talk to people in a way the is prophetic we do not associate that rabblerousing with our faith in Jesus and our conviction to follow him, in life, death and resurrection. Quite honestly, the reason I was against the American Healthcare Act was because it would deny millions of people healthcare and give rich people a tax break. I think that if Jesus witnessed this he would be turning over the tables, so to speak. We need to identify what we do for justice and peace in the world with our faith in Jesus. And we need to share with others, incite conversations about our images of Jesus who directs us to our opinions and convictions about such things as the AHA. I believe we need conversations with those we disagree with. But I believe they need to be about the center of our faith, Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus for us that compels is to act and believe in a certain way. I’m hoping to instill in the confirmands this question – I hope it helps transform the world.

P. Jim

Thoughts on preparing for SUMYT Retreat

/in /by

After my birthday, it came to mind that I might be the oldest person to be the speaker at the youth SUMYT Retreat. I have attended this retreat occasionally over the years between my two sons, and I don’t recall anyone my age as the speaker. One year two seminary students shared the role. I also recall two colleagues speaking and they weren’t “young” like the seminary students but they were younger than I am now. I was surprised to receive the invitation for this reason; how can someone so elderly relate to youth today? I know that the youth are the ones who choose the speaker, and two of the youth on the committee are youth at our church – that likely explains it. If adults were the one’s choosing, particularly clergy, I wouldn’t have been invited to speak. Bishop Hagiya once said that we cannot relate to anyone who is over 20 years different in age. I realize that in a changing world with all sorts of new technological devices it’s hard for people over 50 to keep up. Nonetheless, I have problems with assumptions that are made ere.

First of all, it seems to me that in our culture what is new and young are valued rather than what is old. We are inculcated to wait in anxious anticipation for the newest version of a game, phone or device. Older versions of programs are insufficient and frowned upon. This is where I may be a little old, but I detest when the newer versions come out because it takes so long to adjust; I still don’t like Windows 10. In the church I hear constantly how important it is to reach out to millennia’s; we need to understand them and adapt to their generational needs and habits. This is why younger clergy are appointed to the larger churches where there a lot of younger families. (I am no longer in the pool of possible pastors for those churches.) I also perceive a superciliousness in some younger clergy as if they have the needed knowledge and I don’t. And the question arises: Why don’t we lean the other way and wonder about what wisdom older people have to share?
When I lived in Japan and was introduced to Japanese aesthetics I learned about the concept of wabi sabi. It is beauty found it what is old, rusty, slightly cracked and imperfect. This aesthetic was also a part of the culture; whether we know it or not, art is the life blood of a culture. There is far more respect for the wisdom of the aged. Graphically, I remember when a Zen Master visited our local Temple in Oasa where I lived. It was a gold carpet, but metaphorically it was a red one.

Every stage of life has gifts and liabilities. Watching my sons grow up there are things I miss and envy – not the least of which is physical prowess. I also see things I don’t miss – the anxiety of youth. It is a mistake to over emphasize any of these stages over others. While technology is changing things so fast that older people have trouble keeping up, younger people today live largely disconnected from animals (accepting pets), streams, forests and the glory of climbing a mountain. (I’m speaking generally and comparatively here.) There may be some truth to the belief that one cannot relate to a person over 20 years different in age, but I don’t find it to be a helpful idea. It isn’t something we want to accentuate or use as a reason not to appoint an old fogey to a younger church. The real benefit comes when we are able to learn from each other.

I don’t know how SUMYT will go. I feel the need to use some technology to show that I’m up to date. I also know that in the end it isn’t about what we know or don’t know – it’s about the heart. And I want to believe that heart knowledge reaches across generations. That the youth at the retreat deep down are more hungry for meaning than for the newest gadget. We will see. Pray for me.

P.Jim