2.17.10

Major Announcement coming in 5 Days! www.thechurchisalive.com

An Unlikely Path

Much has been written, produced, filmed, and recorded about New Orleans and the Saints over the past fourteen days. Seeing the images of the flooded city, brought back a rush of memories for me. Until moving to Atlanta four years ago, I had spent more time in New Orleans than any other major U.S. City. Needless to say, New Orleans was and is a special place to me. After seeing and experiencing all the images in the build up to the Super Bowl, I went back to my journal and re-read my entry from December 17, 2005, the first time I went back to the city after Katrina. In the midst of the excitement of a Super Bowl win, I offer this reflection of that car ride into the destructed city, on December 17, 2005:

Silence falls over the car fifteen miles outside of New Orleans as we begin to count the blue tarps that cover rooftops of homes; the marking signs that FEMA had been there to repair roofs, and checked off each home surrounding New Orleans. As the van makes its way closer to the heart of the city we see that a majority of the power has yet to be restored, and in every sense of the word it is a ghost town. Billboards split in two, restaurant signs blown to pieces, cars turned over, walls on one Sam’s Club blown completely off, and homes destroyed. The homes, the one thing that we all connected to, the reason that we felt the call to New Orleans. Homes where families were born, raised, the first Christmas’s, Thanksgiving’s, Birthday’s, and the countless other memories that we cherish about our own homes. The homes that made up the communities that were now displaced, and from all outward appearances “washed away”. The sinking feeling in the heart and the aching in the stomach were all signs that pointed us that we were indeed in the middle of the destruction and exactly where we were called to be.
The van continued to make its way into downtown, more of the same, no power for miles with the exception of one or two lights sprinkled here and there, as if the last signs that there was power there to begin with. The flood of emotions and memories of the images that flooded our television screens, the internet, and magazines came to mind. The streets we were now driving covered in eight to twelve feet of water at one time. It’s hard not to envision what it must have been like a mere two months prior to us driving that day. People swimming, clutching to whatever they could find that would float. These are all images that we are familiar with. They were the images that we clung to in the days and weeks after what has been called the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. It’s hard to put into words what it felt like that night. Yes it was devastating, but we were there for bigger reasons than flooded houses, broken signs, ruined stores, and rusted cars; you see we were there to be in relationship with each other and the people that made these places home. Otherwise these were just houses, stores, wood, nails, and cement. So many people have asked where was God in the storm? How could this happen? As we addressed many of these questions throughout the week we quickly understood that God was there, in the rebuilding process. God was there in the community that was taking place in the destruction of houses, but in the rebuilding of relationships, that were broken long before the hurricane. Our eyes were open to the community that we are called to live in each and every day of our lives.


A lot has changed in New Orleans since the flood and the city in many ways will never be the same, but the spirit of that place lives on. New Orleans is a place like no other. I cherish my time there, and the relationships that have come from that city. The spirit of that city lives on, and now with a Super Bowl trophy.

Brit Hume - To Mock or Not to Mock?

Hi. I'm Brit Hume, and I would like to talk to you about Jesus...

In the continuing tradition of my writing articles long after events have come to pass, I wanted to take a moment to talk about something that happened earlier last month...

Late last year the United States was wrapped in a blanket of fear. All across the country people huddled together for safety, urgently trying to comfort one another in the wake of a horrifying string of news stories that shocked the nation...

What were we shocked by? Was it the suicide bombings that killed several CIA officers in Afghanistan? Was it the almost-bombing of an Detroit-bound flight by a new breed of anti-American terrorist? Was it the possible shake-up of Late Night television?

No, it was far, far worse: Tiger Woods’ honor as a husband was called into question. :: shudder::

Hearing the distraught pleas of the masses, the ever-vigilant twenty-four-hour news media swooped in to comfort a forlorn America desperate for some kind of explanation.

Naturally, Brit Hume - a former ABC anchor turned Fox News pundit - had his own explanation (and recommendation) for the American people and Tiger Woods:

“Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person I think is a very open question, and it's a tragic situation for him. I think he's lost his family, it's not clear to me if he'll be able to have a relationship with his children, but the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal -- the extent to which he can recover -- seems to me to depend on his faith. He's said to be a Buddhist; I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many people were a bit miffed by Hume’s words. The Daily Show in particular got a good two days of material out of Hume’s words (<---Warning: link includes Basic Cable bleeped language).

In light of this, I’m going to do something weird. I’m going to ask you, our reader(s), a question: are the Daily Show and other media outlets right to mock Brit Hume for his remarks?

Before people clamor to answer, let’s break down (and admittedly oversimplify) the arguments by pretending to be a hard-liner on either side:

Viewpoint One: Brit Hume’s remarks were presumptuous and irresponsible and he should be mocked accordingly.

Why: For starters, to assert one religion as superior to another is just asking for trouble. Many doubt that Brit Hume has a particularly nuanced understanding Buddhism, and empirical evidence suggests that Hume is not a personal friend of the legendary golfer, and thus has almost no understanding of Tiger’s personal faith. It is condescending enough to make claims about another religion without backing it up, but it’s downright presumptuous - if not irresponsible - to make assumptions about another individual’s personal faith without even discussing it with him or her.

Furthermore, Brit Hume is a pundit on one of the most-watched networks in the country. Again, his words were bad enough in isolation, but to say what he said on national television is downright irresponsible. The reason the Founding Fathers gave us the First Amendment was to prohibit a powerful entity like the government from coercing people to follow a specific faith, and that is exactly what Brit Hume was doing.

No, Hume is not the American Government, but with great power comes great responsibility (and that’s a Biblical reference!). Besides, if Fox News is supposed to be “Fair and Balanced” - or offer unbiased reports - then Hume’s proselytizing makes for bad journalism, period.

And now Viewpoint Two: Brit Hume’s remarks were justifiable and mocking them is to mock religious freedom in the United States.

Why: Brit Hume is an American citizen. As such, he is entitled to his First Amendment rights - namely, the right to freely exercise his religion. It is true that the First Amendment does prohibit Congress from mandating a state religion, but Hume is neither a member of congress nor is he attempting to pass legislation. Hume is a journalist and thus entitled to say whatever he wants as long it isn’t slander or libel. His words were neither. Instead, his comments were a vocalized expression of a sentiment expressed by almost anyone who follows a particular faith tradition: that is, anyone who follows a specific faith is usually - by definition - silently making a claim that their faith is in some way superior than other faiths. True, there is a pivotal difference between people who claim that a faith is best for themselves and those who believe that a faith best for all, but the law sees both as equally viable.

Furthermore, there are adherents of several faiths who see mission work - or straight-up proselytizing - as an instrumental part of their belief system. Are we to mock them for making use of one of our nation’s founding principles?

Does Hume’s status as a nationally-recognized journalist give his words more weight than the average American? Certainly. Does that mean he should take his power into account before speaking? Certainly. Does that mean that with status comes the loss of one’s Constitutional right to religious freedom? Certainly not.

So, faithful reader(s), how do you feel about it? Do you side with Viewpoint 1, Viewpoint 2, or do you find them both oversimplified? Does the recent Pat Robertson comment play a role this as well? What do you think?

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Book of Confessions

When I think about being a member of the PC(USA), there is a list of things that come to mind about the PC(USA) and the fact that we are a confessional church is, or was until recently, not anywhere on that list. As a younger member in our church, I think about things like Montreat, Ghost Ranch, Presbyterian Youth Triennium, and Young Adult Volunteers. When I think about the church as a whole, I think of General Assembly and our democratic processes, session meetings, synods, Presbyteries, the Church is ALIVE; there is a slue of words, phrases and places that are particular or not-so-particular but important to the past, present and future of the PC(USA).

One celebrated and historical aspect of the Presbyterian Church is the fact that we confess, as a church, every Sunday. That is part of what makes us a confessional church. I’m no seminary student, or graduate for that matter, but I’ll lay out a few guidelines to understanding the Presbyterian Church USA as a confessional church, which I think is important especially since it is something we do every Sunday.

The Presbyterian Church USA has a constitution comprised of two parts: the Book of Confessions (aka the boc) and the Book of Order (aka the boo! Which is great) The Book of Confessions is a series of historical documents written in the midst of difficult situations that are meant for the our church to be able, according to the boc preface, to:

“declare to its members and to the world
who and what it is,
what it believes,
what it resolves to do.”

These confessions shed light on the unity of our church and guide us through situations that we face in our own generations. While these documents may have been written to address very specific situations or questions that troubled the church in the past, they are consistent reminders of our own contemporary presence in the world and call our congregations to action when we need to be stirred up. The confessions are also helpful in the ways in which we interpret scriptures, and are good lenses through which we can look at our world at large. So you see, they are foundational and irreplaceable in our church’s identity.

The Book of Confessions is not only for seminary students, graduates, professors, ministers and elders. It is for all of us, because we do not want to be those church members who show up to church to go through the motions every Sunday. We want to be living congregants who actively engage in scripture, liturgy, and understand what it means when we say bits and pieces of confessions and when we state creeds. I got a gold star when I was in 2nd grade for memorizing the Apostle’s Creed, and I recited it pretty absent-mindedly for a long time until I asked my mom why we say we believe in the “holy catholic Church” if we are Presbyterian. It wasn’t until recently that I started paying attention to the creeds and confessions, and there really is some interesting stuff in that boc. So don’t let it gather dust, crack it open (or download it here) and learn a little more about what it means to be a Presbyterian.

Big Announcement 2/17/10!

Over the past three weeks, the Church is Alive team has been working on a major project! We cannot wait to share it with you. Stayed tuned to the Church is Alive site in the coming weeks for news about the project along with the BIG announcement on Ash Wednesday, February 17th!

The Presbyterian Coffee Project

I was a curious kid. I'd ask my parents all sorts of random questions that would float into my head: Why is the sky blue? How do birds fly? Who gets to make up words? Why does coffee smell good and taste bad? The answer my parents provided to that last question never satisfied me... "Well, I don't think it tastes bad honey." I promptly filed it away next to vanilla extract in my brain.

But like many college freshmen, I came to know and love coffee quite well. It was able to provide a few extra hours of "studying" and even if I only thought the taste was tolerable, it got the job done.

Fast forward to today (it's only like, five years), and I've become something of a coffee/tea junkie. I make it every morning, have it at work, and sometimes get carried away with how much I drink (this is known as "Jittery Josh"). I recently watched the documentary "Black Gold" which looks at the coffee industry, and specifically, how little coffee farmers are being paid for their commodity.

Enter the Presbyterian Coffee Project, which works with Equal Exchange to provide an easy, convenient way to get fair trade coffee into churches. Purchasing fairly traded coffee supports farmers all over the globe by allowing them to sell coffee beans at a fair price, giving them the ability to pay their workers fair wages and grow the local infrastructure. Rather than relying on charity and foreign aide, these communities are able to create a robust, sustainable economy. Learn more about fair trade practices here.

The Church is Alive. I'm encouraged by how in touch the PC(USA) seems to be with many of the larger social issues in the world today. The Presbyterian Coffee Project. Who'd have thought? I encourage everyone to make the effort to purchase fair trade coffee (and tea, sugar, chocolate, and nuts) at home and in their Church. It's not too expensive, and you'll know you're supporting a sustainable environment in a place that needs it most.




PS: Vanilla extract is not good by itself.

[Update] There has been some discussion concerning fair-trade coffee through the Presbyterian Coffee Project and through Starbucks.Starbucks has been selling fair-trade coffee products for a few years, and are to be commended for it. Equal Exchange offers great prices through the Presbyterian Coffee Project: Less than six bucks/bag when purchased in a case of six!

a bigger God than we can imagine

"College is a time when many young adults begin to think bigger about who God is and who the people of God are."

Cynthia Rigby spoke these words to 860 College students gathered for the Montreat College Conference. She shared stories of her college experience, where she struggled with many notions of God she had known growing up and assumed as absolute truth. Can't we all relate to struggling with scripture and understandings of God? These moments can be frightening, as they can shake the very fiber of our being as who we know God to be.

Cynthia spoke of Kierkegaard's book "Fear and Trembling," based on the scripture passage that says "work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13)." This is a reminder that there are no guarantees apart from the relationship we have with God. This is where our struggles with God reside, in a relationship that is based on who we know God to be.

Cynthia spoke of two ways of looking at our relationship with God. The first is the one she struggled with once coming to college, a transactional "checklist" model. In this model, every moment of our faith journey is spent trying to appease God and others, as if you are paying money and receiving blessings in response. The other model is submission to what God is doing in the world. This model does not reduce God to a transaction where we keep track of the "good" things we do for God and for others. This model is a recognition of God's sovereignty and LOVE for God's people. This LOVE is what we base our relationship with God in and understand God to work through. This LOVE is represented in the life and work of Jesus Christ.

When we look to interpret what God is doing in the world, we often turn to scripture. We must remember that the essence of scripture is the person of Jesus Christ. God's loving relationship with us is our assurance of faith. We need to remember that we don't have God figured out. God is greater than we can conceive God to be. God is greater than words in the Bible. God is a loving relationship that is understood to us through Christ reflected in scripture.

Some people tend to forget that they actually do NOT have God figured out. They do NOT have a direct line to God.

I speak of a particular person who shall remain nameless (to avoid giving him more recognition - he's mentioned halfway through this clip).

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Haiti Earthquake Reactions
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

This person spoke horrific words about the recent tragedy in Haiti. He spoke from a position that expressed he knew God's motives, motives that were in violation of God's loving relationship with us. Perhaps he should examine what it means to work out his salvation with fear and trembling? Perhaps he should realize that God is MUCH bigger than who he sees God to be.

I'm grateful to see some wonderful responses to his comments:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/the_devil_writes_pat_robertson.html?ft=1&f=103943429/r:t

http://donmilleris.com/2010/01/13/1513/

As Donald Miller implies, we should have sympathy and reach out in love even to people with such comments. This is not a chance to attack his position, but rather, a chance to make a more truthful position LOUDER.

Let us continue our prayers and support for the tragedy in Haiti. God's love extends especially to the poor and downtrodden. Let us continue to ask and wonder why this happens, yet never forget that God pulls us into relationship and calls us to reflect this love from our very being.