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Issue 037<previous
Issue 038 Volume 8 No 1 February 2002
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Table of Contents - February 2002
The Vicar of Bray On a Cruise Ship? Years ago I first read the following satirical English verse about a minister who adjusts his faith to political demands. Symon Symonds, the vicar of the English village of Bray, served under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Bloody Mary, and Elizabeth. During those years he was twice a Catholic and twice a Protestant.
The Tears of God
“Jesus began to weep.” John
11:35 Jesus didn’t cry much. We have one picture of him in the prophet’s writing that the Messiah would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. There we see him as a sad figure, a person who moves with gravity and with sadness and sorrow in his life. However, when we read through the New Testament, we discover only two passages in which the Bible says that Jesus shed tears. He may have shed tears at other times, of course. But the Bible only records these two times when Jesus wept—once at the grave of Lazarus (John 10:35) and once during the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). I want us to look
at these two passages because I would like for us to see and sense the tears of
God, and perhaps also to see the ways that God is crying again in our day. Roots of Violence
Violence is primarily
anthropological, a problem within persons. And we have largely focused on the
problem without, rather than the one within. Thousands are chopping off the
limbs of this evil tree while only a few are striking at its roots. A Conversation Between
Introduction:
In a scene reminiscent
of Marley's after-life conversation with Scrooge, an apparition of James
Madison appeared to George W. Bush shortly after Bush established the Office of
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The Presidential directive to staff was
"to coordinate a national effort to expand opportunities for faith-based
and other community organizations." If anything would bring Madison back
from the dead it would be such an announcement. Madison was an ardent defender
of separation and dealt with proposals during his administration that have
great similarity to what are now called "faith-based initiatives."
Bush seems eager to set aside traditional barriers that have protected religion
from government, and prevented government from taxing the citizenry to support
religion. In their conversation, President Bush was the first to speak: Amos Never Worked For Enron 2002 © Where is Amos when we need him? He started out in the Tekoa countryside but was last seen in Bethel. That was before they kicked him out, sent him packing, closed down his operations. He ran afoul of the authorities. Amos was shaking his verbal finger in the face of the king, his judges, and all the national administrators: "Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground!" Not that these important people were unbelievers. Bethel was the
site of "the king's sanctuary," probably something like a chapel at Camp David. It was a place
where powerful people could worship without risking public confrontation with a man like Amos. Faith and Higher Education
About three
years ago my friend Gary Furr and I met with Gary Parker to discuss the fact
that some of the most devoted supporters of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
are persons involved in higher education. We met at a restaurant in Anniston,
Alabama, and that may have suggested to us that a good way for the CBF to
express its appreciation for persons in higher education was to sponsor a meal
for them during the General Assembly. So here we are today, having this good
lunch together, the third in a series. I remember with appreciation the very
thoughtful address by Jeff Rogers at our first lunch, and though I could not be
present last year in Orlando I have read with profit Dwight Moody's provocative
address "On Being a Baptist School." The Culture of Death In their November 15, 2000 meeting, the U.S. Catholic Bishops denounced the Supreme Court decisions on abortion and announced a program of education and public policy advocacy to oppose what they call “a culture of death.” They recommitted themselves to “building a culture of life.” In their statement they referred only to legal abortion as a culture of death and laws against it as promoting a culture of life. This requires a more comprehensive ethical analysis not only of “the culture of death” but of the meaning of a “culture of life.” Is it true that the leaders of one church are the champions of a culture of life while others, including major Protestant and Jewish groups, are endorsing a culture of death? Our analysis goes
beyond the obvious conflict between preserving the life and health of the woman
and giving priority to life in the womb.
Updated Wednesday, January 05, 2005 |
Effective Preaching: An Ethical Obligation
Both clergy and
laity have recognized for several decades a decline in effective preaching. The
complaints range from dissatisfaction to downright scorn and boycott. In
December, 1979, Time magazine offered a disturbing indictment of the
American pulpit when it raised the question, “American Preaching: A Dying Art?”[1]
Fred Buechner, a Presbyterian preacher and novelist from Milwaukee, was quoted
in the Dallas Times Herald (1983) as saying, “Sermons are like dirty
jokes. Even the best ones are hard to remember.”[2]
Jesuit theologian Walter J. Burghardt admitted that “the long-suffering laity
are intolerant of the trivia we dish out, the constipation of thought amid a
diarrhea of words…and are puzzled by our ability to declaim about the divine
without a shred of feeling or emotion.”[3]
Donald McLeod (1978) of Princeton defended preaching only mildly when he
described it as “the era of the average but in the pulpit fortunately that
average is higher.”[4] Giving The Bride Away Judy returned from a week-long Faith at Work conference in Jackson, Mississippi. Her head was in the clouds. She was on the phone to people in her “family” and talked about them constantly. She encouraged me to go to the next one, and I found myself liking the idea. Stoney Point, New York, is a long way from Texas. I didn’t know there was any other town or city in the State of New York except New York City. We landed there and I took a Greyhound bus
for about two hours to the village of Stoney Point. Book Review The Truth About Malarkey
The Truth about Malarkey presents a sobering and realistic narrative of a topic in American church life more taboo now than the topic death was in the U.S. in past years, namely clergy sexual abuse and clergy domestic violence. Author Dee Miller's novel portrays a scenario based on a combination of numerous real life experiences known to her and some of us who lived through such traumatic events. Dee Miller, psychiatric nurse and much sought after consultant in this hush-hush subject of clergy sexual misconduct and domestic violence in clergy homes, recently received the Elaine V. Shaw Advocacy Award from Associates in Education and Prevention in Pastoral Practice for her work in this area. Located in North Kingston, Rhode Island, AEPPP is an inter-religious, educational and healing ministry which exists to prevent sexual and domestic violence and to promote ethical conduct within communities of faith. Here's a book about a clergy whistle-blower! From the outset make no
mistake. We clergy whistle-blowers don't blow our own horns. God forbid!! Memories of such
remarkably sad experiences constrict lung capacity to a point even breathing is often
uncomfortable. Not to mention writing a book review about such a repugnant matter. Book Review Making Sense Of The Revelation: A Clear Message Of Hope
Another book on Revelation? Another "dooms day" spectacular targeting a sincere but gullible religious market? Is there a need for another book on Revelation? Author William Turner thinks so, and after reading his book, many others will agree. He recognizes that some today consider eschatology to be irrelevant, and in his preface indicates that new study on the theme "may appear to be an elitist refuge in a world of breakneck change, constant transition, and continuing human struggle.” “However," he continues, "I beg to differ." The
"recovery of hope" perhaps will be "one of the major human
quests of the new millennium." Consequently, the book of Revelation is of
vital importance, for it is "preeminently a treatise on Christian
hope" addressed "to churches under attack." Book Review Practice What
You Preach: Virtue,
Ethics, and Power in the Lives of Pastoral Ministers and Their Congregations “In many ways, theologians who ask whether church leaders and members treat one another ethically often feel like people asking a terribly rude question” is the opening sentence in a book of essays on ministerial ethics. But it is a question that must be asked. After years of relative silence,
ministerial ethics has become a topic of discussion, interest, and study. That
disciplined, ethical study is needed in church policy and proceedings is seen
by at least three examples according to the editors of this book. These
examples are clergy sexual abuse and the attempts at cover-ups, the salaries of
those in pastoral ministries, and the role of women in church leadership. These
and other related topics demonstrate how disciplined ethical study is an
important resource for church life. Vows of Cohabitation A recent report showed that more Americans are living together than ever before. Cohabitation is up and morality is down. When people get married, they make vows to each other. It clarifies the nature of the relationship. There ought to be similar vows for people who choose to live together. Here’s what we suggest: “I John, take you Mary, to be my cohabitant, to have sex with, and to share bills with. I’ll be around while things are good, but I probably won’t
be if things get tough. As the saying goes, ‘When the going gets tough, seek
greener pastures.’ After all, the grass frequently IS greener on the other side
of the fence. Fishing
Unlike the avid fisherman who was dressing to go to church on Sunday morning and while absent-mindedly tightening his necktie with the necessary tugs suddenly fancied that he had a fine fish on his hook and jerked so hard that he choked himself to death, I myself have never been caught-up in fishing. Nevertheless, fishing pleasures me. While I can take it or leave it, I’d really rather take it. For instance, just this morning, quite
early, I had an inordinately pleasant dream that I had gone fishing. The lake was calm. A light
wind from the south was at my back as I ambled around a little bay looking for a likely place to
try my luck. The early morning sun was at my back and a few fleecy clouds floated desultorily
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