Phil Robertson, The "War" on Christmas, and False Martyrdom

Oscar Romero     Phil Robertson    Dietrich Bonhoeffer

As the saying goes "one of these things is not like the other". Phil Robertson is a fine guy. I've never personally met him, but I enjoyed the I Am Second video with his and his family. I love hearing stories of people who turned from their reckless life and embraced God. So while Phil is a Christian much like the other two names above there is one major difference. The difference is Bonhoeffer and Romero were martyrs. They were men killed for their faith. Bonhoeffer for teaching that Christ not Hitler was king and Romero for teaching that serving and following God's will was more important than following the orders of a corrupt government. Phil Robertson while he seems to be a great guy doesn't share that same label. Phil Robertson is simply the latest in a line of false martyrs in American Christianity.

    You see in some parts of the world, people pay a cost to follow Christ. They are imprisoned or even sometimes put to death. When viewed through that lens american Christians have it pretty easy. Do you believe in Christ? Yes. Okay great. Do you believe in Christ? No. Okay great. There is no cost to be a Christian in America. You see part of the problem lies with many american christian's awareness of the true martyrs of the gospel in Asia and other places. Americans need to feel like we are paying a cost for our faith but not actually pay one. How do you do that though? You create a straw man.

  American Christians create these straw men or false martyrs. We create people who have been "persecuted" or "suffered" for their faith or beliefs. It makes us feel like there is an actual cost to be paid for being Christian in america without actually having to suffer. We feel the need to suffer for our faith. It's Biblical because Christ tells us the world will reject us for following him. It's the same reason Christians in America cry out about the "war" on Christmas. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your reaction to someone wishing you "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" is doing way more to hurt Christmas and Christians everywhere than some atheists taking out an anti Christmas ad in Times Square.

  

  We have got to be honest with ourselves. Christians in America have it easier than any other Christians in the world. I often wonder if so much of the push back and creation of false martyrs we see in american Christianity is because those who create them are worried about having to actually stand up for their faith and possibly pay a real cost to follow Christ.A millionaire being suspended from a tv show is not persecution. Some Salvation Army Bell Ringer wishing you "Happy Holidays" is not persecution. This whole Duck Dynasty situation reveals a greater problem than simply someone's words. We want to feel like we are paying the cost to follow Christ that Christ Himself tells us it will cost without actually paying any cost.  I know it can be hard to decide in the media infused world whether or not you are being persecuted as an American Christian.With some time and some sweet MS Paint skills, I created the handy little flow chart below to help. Take a moment and look it over. When you're done, let's commit to calling out the creation of false martyrs. Let's commit to ending phony "wars" that aren't really wars at all. Let's commit to maybe actually paying a real cost to follow Christ that makes us uncomfortable, poor, unemployed, or alienated from our family. 

No One Wants To Follow......

It's tough
It's unrealistic
It can't be done
I'm not perfect

It is tough and unrealistic for broken imperfect human beings to follow Christ and live according to the ways we are called to. You know I see the word "prophetic" used a lot in United Methodist Circles these days. Typically it's applied to someone who has spoken out in favor of changing the UMC's stance on homosexuality. Every time I see something like that I think of myself. I think of how many times I've watched someone take a stand for something or someone only to sit back and cheer for them. Why do we do that? Why do I do that? Is it in our nature to be slacktivists? I think it is. It's so much easier to cheer on someone from the sidelines who is doing what Jesus is calling us to when he says "deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me" Matthew 16:24. It's not just that issue it's issues in my own life. We take the easy way out. Standing up for people and doing what is right is hard. It's tough, It's unrealistic. It may cost you friends, family, your job, or various other things. It's so much easier to stay on the sideline and cheer on from afar. The sidelines are safe. Pastors don't lose their credentials on the sidelines. Pastors don't lose half their congregations on the sidelines. We don't lose half our friends standing on the sidelines. We don't shake up and move the idea of comfort and personality we have built by ourselves by standing on the sidelines. It's what we do. It's the easy way, but we are called to more. By ourselves we can not do more. I grow to realize this more and more every day. I've been deeply convicted of times recently where instead of offering a kind word to someone I chose to be harsh. It harkens me back to times in my life that instead of standing up for someone I piled on to fit in. It's the safe action. I also remember that grace covers those failures and by God's grace I can continue on towards perfection of Christian love for all of my brothers and sisters around me. I have to remind myself

It's tough
It's unrealistic
I'm not perfect

Notice it can't be done is missing. It's missing because it can be done but not alone. Not with the power we receive through Christ. I often grow frustrated with my friends who will post a litany of posts on facebook about issues in the world and how terrible they are, yet those very people are too comfortable to take action to change anything. Friends we are not called to a comfortable life. We follow a man who could have very easily sacrificed his principles and joined in rather than standing up and lived. However that was not the life he was called to and it's not the life he calls us to. Take chances. Put yourself on the line. There is no reward for doing the right thing. Doing the right thing will not make you money. It won't make you more friends. It won't give you lasting peace. What doing the right thing will do is let you know that you are laying yourself down for the betterment of those around you. You are living the sacrificial life calls us to even if it means losing your job, your friends, or your family. If we truly feel someone is being prophetic and a voice in the wilderness then are we not failing ourselves to follow? Do the right thing. If you feel that something is the right thing to do then be willing to lay it all on the line to make it happen. Don't lead a church and complain about gay rights if you aren't willing to lay your credentials, your pastorship, or your pensions on the line to make it a reality. Don't complain about violence if you aren't willing to sacrifice your social status, your friends, or even your family to help bring an end to it. Don't post stories about how sad it is that someone has been bullied when you are unwilling to end your role in the bullying itself. Choose true activism. Choose the "road less traveled". Choose to put yourself on the line to make the world a better place for those around you and allow Christ's light to shine through you.

4 Things Christians that "Go Greek" need to remember

It's that time of year again. Christians and Non-Christians alike all around the country are signing up to join fraternities and sororities at their college. I've watched many pledge classes and I've seen Christians fundamentally change the way their fraternity or sorority functions and I've seen Christians who were further from their faith Senior year than when I met them because of their Greek Organization. For that reason with comes this article of 4 things Christians who "Go Greek" need to remember.


1. Jesus is Lord
   Now this may sound dumb or even feel like beating a dead horse, but this is where we need to start. The simple phrase Jesus is Lord is a starting point and ultimately the end point. Your big, chapter president, or even brothers and sisters are broken human beings. The greatest human being ever doesn't hold a candle when compared with the Glory of a Holy and Living God. Many people in the Greek system will demand your attention, but put none above Christ. This leads us to point two

2. Put Christ First
    I can't tell you how many times I've seen people who have come to college and been active in church and campus ministry until they joined Greek Life. After joining Greek Life they would often have events (often "optional") on the same nights as campus ministry nights so even though they were optional the students chose the Greek event rather than be ostracized. These same students would often miss church on Sunday morning while sleeping off the events of Saturday night. The refrain I would often hear when mentioning this is "well we have a Bible study in our chapter room" and "we all go together to church as a group on Sunday". That's outstanding and I'm glad they happen but there is more to it.

3. A Day to Day Faith
   As I said before many chapters especially in the south will have some sort of informal Bible Study etc. This is not a substitute for true Christian community. A Bible Study while great means absolutely nothing if the people you are doing it with don't hold you accountable and show the light of Christ the other 6 days of the week. I've seen Bible Study leaders from fraternities and sororities carried out of the clubs and bars (yes seeing them means I was there. I'm not against people going out) on the "party nights". You must find a way to maintain a day to day faith that is consistent.

4. Keeping the Faith
   Life in a fraternity or sorority can make or break your faith during college. The sheer fact of the matter is that 6 out of 10 people who start college with a strong faith will walk away from their faith in college. While Greek Life offers many great things, to deny the fact that there is a dark side of Greek Life where random drunken hookups, binge drinking, and occasional drug use happens would be to tell only half the tale. Things like this may never happen in your fraternity or sorority, but then again they may. You must keep the faith. Remember that your commitment to Christ is more important than a commitment to any person or organization. It won't be easy but in the tough times when it comes to choosing between your commitment to living the holy life God has called you to and making a bad decision with some of your sisters or brothers you must draw yourself closer to Christ. The fact of the matter is you will make the wrong decision and you will do it more than once, but there is grace to cover all including our mistakes when we choose worldly desires over God.

My prayer is that if you are joining a Greek Organization out there that it is an amazing blessing to your life. That you grow closer to Christ and grow in holiness so that you choose Christ over peer pressure that would have you make bad decisions. I pray that you are an agent of change in your respective organization that when you see something that is wrong within your organization, you draw upon the strength of Christ to speak out against it. May the Lord bless you and keep you this year. May you and everyone you encounter know the grace and mercy of a living and risen Christ.

Methodism Remix (Ft. The People Called Methodists)

Okay okay so it has a cheesy title, but with Justin Coleman coming up with witty titles like Shipwreck which you can read here and Krystle Wheeler with "Is It Time To Say Goodbye" I had to try something for this blog on the UMC and schism. I don't like schism. I mean not because of the idea, I just think it's a weird word. Weird words are either entertaining like piccolo or bad like schism so I'll stick with split. DreamUMC an ongoing discussion by UMC members on twitter hit one year old. A bunch of folks blogged on the topic of a split in the UMC. I'm nowhere near as well spoken on the issue as the other folks that blogged, but it's hard for me to convey my thoughts in 140 characters so I wrote this blog post haste. So the question comes up.

“Is Schism the best future of the UMC? Why or Why Not?”

Okay so I'm going a little off script on my answer. The simple answer is it doesn't matter. Right now a split in the UMC doesn't matter any more than whether the pastor wearing a robe or suit/dress affects how many people fall asleep during his/her sermon. As I read Rev. Coleman's post on the topic it touched on some of the many ideas I have. You seem I think the split doesn't matter, because right now we are dead. I'm not a biology major but I've never heard of a dead cell splitting. Everything I've ever heard is about how the body removes dead cells or creates new cells to replace the dead ones. So you say Shawn what do dead cells have to do with the UMC? I'm glad you asked. John Wesley once wrote;

I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.

You see from where I stand, we are already a dead sect. We have the form of religion but not the power. When was the last time the United Methodist Church was on the forefront of theological or social change?The Civil Rights movement? When was the last time the United Methodist Church was growing Disciples at an alarming rate? Well that one's easy about the same time men were joining Freemasonry at an alarming rate. The difference being, that Freemasonry is now experiencing the type of growth in the US that the UMC could only hope for. 

    So maybe that's a little melodramatic. Maybe we're not quite dead yet, but we are definitely on life support. So from here on out there are really two options. We can keep dying or we can make some new cells. You see the issue isn't really about whether we make new cells together or separate, but that new cells have to be made. The main question isn't about whether the UMC needs to split, but how do we get the UMC off life support and back to healthy growth in Christ. We all have different ideas on how to do that. Maybe a split is best. If a split allows cells to grow and us to be revived from the dead sect we currently are then great. If it allows us to reclaim the power of Christ's redemption as living, breathing, life-saving grace and not simply something that makes us feel warm and fuzzy then outstanding. John Wesley went on to say that whoever has their mind in Christ that same person is our brother, sister, and mother. That's what it's about. I don't believe a split is necessary, but to keep that from happening we have to focus on the (and i'm low balling here) the 60% of things we agree upon and move forward. At this stage we are simply discussing if we can continue or will we allow the minority of things we disagree upon become the majority that causes us to split. I still think a split is inevitable but with Christ all things are possible. We must ask ourselves what can we do to reclaim the power and rise up as a Lazarus of Christianity and change this world again? We've done it before. Let's do it again. 

Sins Against Singles: How the church is failing singles within it's community

“Come back and see us when you’re married.”

         For many millennials (ages 18-29) this is the perceived attitude in the church. Several articles have been released recently (one by Slate and one by The Atlantic, among others) wondering why those same millennials are getting married at the oldest average age in the history of the United States. To some like my friend Drew who married young, it was a pushback against a society that tells you it’s simply better to wait until you’re done with college and have a career before you get married.

How does that look for Christians? What if there is a pushback within a pushback? While society also tells us it’s more beneficial to wait until you’re older to marry, the church has done the same thing. The church, intentionally or not, has sinned against its singles. A number of ministries are geared toward members of the church who are married or have children. With more and more people waiting until they have a career and finish college to get married, the church has for years now geared activities towards those people because they have the money and means to support the church.

            Many churches care about the singles within their church; they just care for the wrong reasons. I believe that life is full of seasons. One of the most important in the life of any Christian is the period of singleness. This is when you develop who you are and set goals for who you want to become. The problem is the Christian church as a whole has not taken this approach. In The United Methodist Church, we provide outstanding youth ministry, but when those youth go away to college, we lose them. It’s no surprise that as we cut back funding for Wesley Foundations and campus ministries across the country and depend on the local church to minister to college-aged students, many of whom are the “singles” the church needs, that millennials leave the church at an alarming rate because we are not funding the ministries during such a vital time for millennials effectively.

              Most of us who were plugged into a local church for college and the time thereafter experienced these efforts first hand. The problem is that many churches treat these singles as if they are “broken.” I once heard a woman remark to her daughters after meeting an 18-year-old young man who was single, “18 and not married? What a shame.” It’s this attitude that permeates our churches and causes these sins against the singles.

               Here’s what I mean: If you visit the average large United Methodist church in a decent-sized city there will undoubtedly be some type of singles or college-aged ministry. The problem with these ministries is in their goals. While invitations to singles groups at church are often done with the best intentions, the groups end up resembling a Christian dating website. If you sit in on one of these ministries, you will often find it run by a married person with or without their significant other. You will often find the group studying books like “The Five Love Languages.” You may also find the group doing Bible study about what qualities you need to learn or exhibit to be a “good Godly man or woman” that someone would “want to marry.”

                 It ultimately comes back to the goals of the church. Whether the church will acknowledge it or not, our activities are simply not friendly toward singles looking to get involved in a community of faith. That’s why the churches with the biggest singles and college-aged student involvement are the ones that invite them to be the body of Christ without having to “fix” them. They are the churches that plan longer mission trips so someone who is single with no family or child attachments can go for a long-term mission. They are the churches that plan local, inexpensive mission projects where singles and college-aged students can give back their God-given talents if they aren’t financially stable. They develop singles who are equally happy and developed single or in a relationship. They avoid the trap of hosting a singles group only to try and get those in the group down the aisle with a ring on their finger.

                   Many in the church will say we have neglected the older generations in an effort to reach the millennials. It’s actually the opposite. The biggest relational sin the church currently engages in is making singles feel as if they can’t contribute to the community and be part of the body of Christ because they aren’t married with kids. The ones who are pointed toward the married couple that sits in the front pew, has been married for 40 years, comes every Sunday, and tithes more than 10 percent and told, “That is who you should want to be like.” Marriage is not the end goal of Christianity. Developing a deep relationship with Christ that forms and molds you into a Disciple of Christ that works to bring His kingdom is the goal of Christianity, not marriage. Marriage allows you a partner along the way to accomplish this goal who you can love as Christ loves His church

                      We must view singles as equals in ministry, walk alongside and guide them toward Christ and what Christ calls us to — not what we think is success. Admit we are all broken but that being single isn’t one way we’re broken. Realize that the humble Rabbi from Nazareth we follow was single until his death in his 30s, and he and his 12 friends managed to do outstanding ministry in that time. We all have a role in the ministry of the body of Christ and part of that ministry is to allow singles to provide as much of a faithful witness as those who are married with kids. We must stop systematically ignoring what is for most people a huge season of their life. Being single does not mean you’re less of a member of the church. It doesn’t mean you’re broken and in need of fixing. It doesn’t mean you “just haven’t met The One yet.” It means that this is a season in your life, and as with all seasons of our lives, combined with the grace of the powerful God who we serve, great things can happen.

Why I'm jumping on a sinking ship

The United Methodist Church is a sinking ship. Amid dwindling numbers and fewer new professions of faith the church is dying. Truth be told by it's founder John Wesley's definition the church is already dead.

“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power"-John Wesley

There is no power in a lot of the worship within the United Methodist church. Children who are born and raised in the church are leaving Christianity at an alarming rate (6 out of 10 men will walk away from their faith in college) those that are hanging around, are finding spiritual fulfillment outside of the Methodist Church. An example of such an event can be found on one of my previous posts. So why jump on a sinking ship? Why move towards ministry in a church that has hit an iceberg is going down fast? Because I believe in Jesus. I believe in redemption. I believe that "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still"-Betsie Ten Boom).  I believe that there is a better way than what we are doing now. I believe we can remove the fluff and regain the power. I believe that we can hold ourselves to a higher standards of our interactions with others without defending it with "i'm just a broken person". I grow so tired of seeing Methodist Pastors resort to snark and name-calling as if it somehow improves their point. I often find this occurring in articles posted by United Methodist Pastors. It's not a single place it happens either it's a total top to bottom epidemic. It occurs in letters coming from leaders of General Agencies all the way down to pastor's personal blogs. Look no further than the latest post on RethinkChurch. While my brother in Christ Morgan makes great points they are delineated by his name calling and snark used when dealing with Albert Mohler. I'm no fan of Mohler's either and goodness knows I've been way too snarky and condescending with those I disagree with but to do it on a nationally published article is not the time or the place. The points made in the post were outstanding (I would rather see an easter doodle from Google, but it's important to know the role faith played in Chavez's life) but I found myself wondering if using terms like "outragicals" did anything to improve the quality of the article. We must move on to better things. I'm jumping on the UMC boat because all of the work of going through candidacy has taught me that helping is a spiritual gift. I see people on this sinking ship grabbing as many buckets as they can working and working to bail out water and keep the ship afloat. It's time for me to roll up my sleeves and start bailing out water and lend a hand. How do we "fix" the UMC? Can the UMC be fixed? I believe it can because I believe in Christ's ability to redeem the broken and the UMC is most definitely broken at this point. I'm not anyone special. Just a small certified candidate for ministry in the UMC, but I do have a few ideas about how to fix the UMC.

1. Trim the fat (General Boards and Agencies all the way down to local congregations have too much fluff and fat. Get rid of it. Better budgets and more efficient use of mission shares.)

2. Accountability (As a pastor you swear to uphold certain ideas and rules. If you can't uphold that deal there need to be consequences. Ineffective leadership with zero accountability is killing the church)

3.End Online Seminary (Sorry I know it's "producing lots of UMC pastors" but it's killing the church because it's producing pastors that are the same person they are when they started seminary because they were never forced to interact and grow. This is really an argument of quantity over quality. Online or predominately online seminaries are producing large numbers of pastors but if 10 out of every 100 they produce is effective it's still a failure)

4. Increase educational requirements (Many Pastors coming out of seminary are ill equipped. Pastors get to small churches and realize they have to lead "Children's Church" with no training or idea how to most effectively communicate the Gospel of Christ to young children. That's just one example of how ill equipped some seminaries are leaving pastors)

5. Establish a better balance between personal and social holiness (Wesley tells us we need both, but right now the UMC is so sold out on social holiness at the expense of personal holiness that we're creating form with no power. I can hear the arguments coming in now "social holiness leads to personal holiness" that may be true in some cases not all. Whereas Wesley interprets the Bible to say in James that our works are an outpouring of our faith. )

6. Make room for more voices (right now there is no room for middle ground. If you want to have a voice in a conference, agency, church, etc you have to have a certain voice. You have to agree with the views of those allowing your voice to be heard. I despise the IRD, but their article about the revolving door at the general agencies has some truth to it. I as a moderate Methodist would not be allowed a place at the table at most of the general boards and agencies or even some local churches. That must change. We must quit seeing every issue in the church as win/lose and view it as a chance for holy conferencing and hope)

These are just thoughts. They are things I hope can happen and I feel would help the UMC regain some of the power to go with it's form. It's the hope of these things that leads me to grab a lifejacket, hop on board, take a bucket, and start bailing out water. God can redeem all. Maybe there's hope for the UMC yet.

United Church of Cracker Jack

In my new effort to lose weight and live a more healthy lifestyle, I've come to enjoy grocery shopping. Every aisle is a litany of possibilities now that I understand the dynamics of healthy eating. Occasionally I buy myself a little snack. The other day when I was grocery shopping, I came across Cracker Jack. For $1.25 you could get 3 boxes of Cracker Jack. Cracker Jack conjures up memories of my childhood for me so I bought it. I got home and unpacked my groceries, my mother remarked "oh look cracker jack". I told her the price and she said "wow i remember when they were 10 cents a box". As I enjoyed a box of cracker jack I pulled out the prize. A folding piece of paper that when folded and unfolded showed a young then an old George Washington. My mom then said "wow you don't even get real prizes in them anymore". As I laid in bed that night thinking, I began to realize something. The United Methodist Church is a lot like a box of Cracker Jacks. The prize (Jesus) is still there, but rising costs and ineffectiveness have caused the prize to be cheapened. The United Methodist Church in part due to inflation and other economic circumstances now spends more than they ever have to accomplish the churches mission while the number of members have dwindled to the point that in 20 years the UMC will not exist if the decline doesn't stop. You see much like Cracker Jack, the UMC relishes in nostalgia  People don't buy Cracker Jack anymore because of the outstanding taste or it's affordability. People buy Cracker Jack for the sheer nostalgia value. The same reason people purchase thing from the Cracker Barrel store. It's simply a reminder of better times for most people. The UMC experiences the same thing. As I said before the UMC is spending more now than it ever has. Every year the church is spending more money in an attempt to accomplish it's mission. However, the mission is not successful as it could be because of nostalgia  The old way isn't necessarily bad. The UMC could stand to get a healthy reminder that Wesley focused on both personal and social holiness to bring it back where it originally was rather than the social holiness centered ministry the church mostly engages in now. The nostalgia we hold on to is the unhealthy kind. The kind of nostalgia that says we've always done it this way even though it hasn't worked in years. For some reason, the UMC abandoned it's method of discipleship of the band,class, society system that had led to growth in membership and true discipleship among early Methodist  Instead we've held tightly to systems that haven't developed true disciples in decades. In the process we've cheapened the meaning of Jesus and what it means to our world. We've done things to help the poor, homeless, and disenfranchised in the name of Jesus without actually sharing the hope and reason that we actually are moved to that action. Many don't see much difference in members of the UMC and the outside world they live in. In that instance we've spent more money for a cheaper prize. We treat Jesus like a cheap paper Cracker Jack toy instead of the precious jewel of grace that he was. When will we move beyond the nostalgia  When will we embrace healthy change and re-adapt the things about Methodism that allowed it to grow to meet modern needs? When will we realize that we are called to both personal and social holiness not just one or the other? Until we change, we are simply the United Church of Cracker Jack. Join up, pay some money, get a cheap prize, and feel just a little bit of nostalgia about how great the UMC used to be.Cracker Jack serves a great role in American culture. It ties us back to some say a simpler time. Some nostalgia is healthy, but too much leaves us to being relegated to a bottom shelf tiny spot in American alongside the boxes of Cracker Jack.