Growing In Grace
For nine or ten years, beginning in 1987, we were members of First Christian Church in Falls Church, Virginia. We've been gone now from the church as long as we were there.

The current DisciplesWorld magazine features an article about this year's Youth Sunday service at the church. The photo shows some of the kids who were born during our time there, now in high school.

The focus of the service was the crisis in Sudan, an attempt to raise the issues of the suffering of the people, and an encouragement for church folks to make a response, through prayer, advocacy, and generosity.

Our faith is one we share, not only with those outside the church, but with those who are born into it, as well. We nurture in them the importance of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We teach them about grace, compassion, and forgiveness, and how we are blessed abundantly by God in these ways and others. We challenge them to share the love of Christ with others.

The youth of First Christian Church in Falls Church are demonstrating that these lessons are being taught and learned there. They are growing into the faith in a meaningful way.

And they already are encouraging faithfulness and love in the lives of others.

Ho-sanna, Ha-sanna, Sanna, Sanna, Ho
Recently, I heard that actor Ted Neeley was appearing on stage yet again in his role as Jesus in the rock-opera production Jesus Christ Superstar. I think it was around 1975 or so when I first saw the movie version, in which Neeley starred. The movie was based on a live version that was around for a while beforehand.

I do not know what other acting credits Ted Neeley has in his career, although I have a vague memory of seeing him in a western movie at some point. A quick glance at his official web site leads me to believe touring the nation as Jesus is his full-time vocation, and has been for a long time. I find it somewhat amusing that the same actor has played the role so long – longer, actually, than Jesus himself walked the earth. I guess we now know what Jesus would have been like as he had his 60th birthday surrounded!

There is a lot of memorable, enjoyable music in Superstar, and it’s fun to watch the movie every now and again. I recall one person in a preaching class at seminary who said he found inspiration for sermons by listening to the songs. Hopefully, by now he has moved beyond that.

Sometimes when a movie such as Superstar hits the theaters there is uproar. The Last Temptation of Christ was another one that brought controversy, as did Mel Gibson’s movie a few years ago, The Passion of the Christ, I think it was called. There have been others, as well.

Personally, it never bothers me, because I don’t take them that seriously. I understand the movies merely as someone’s interpretation of the story, skewed or fanciful, though it may be. Hopefully, they spark conversation and thinking, and perhaps even incite someone to blow the dust off their Bible and take a look inside.

Certainly, controversial religious movies are no more threatening to God than the old-time bathrobe movies with all of their dramatic background music, simplistic interpretations, and meaningful glances between characters.

The made-for-TV production, Jesus of Nazareth, while a wonderful and ambitious attempt to tell the story of Jesus, featured many of the characters speaking with a British accent.

I remember one scene where, as he watched it, my son Gabe said, “They sound like the Beatles.”

A Mirror Or A Window?
In Matthew 6, Jesus had some clear and direct words about prayer: “Go in your room, shut the door and pray in secret.” In other words, don’t make a big show of how religious and pious you are. The focus of prayer really isn’t about you and that you are doing it. The focus is on God.

The prophet Isaiah turned up the heat a little more, giving voice to God’s distress at big displays of ritual and religiosity when people really were only serving their own purposes and needs. He said, “You fast only to quarrel and to fight, and to strike with a wicked fist.” Such fasting “will not make your voice heard on high.” Rather than religious posturing, God wanted the people to deal with injustice and oppression, hunger and homelessness.

That’s a tall order, but the point comes across: faithfulness is the response God wants. We do not satisfy God by being religious if the concerns of God are left out of the picture. When we worship, it’s about God. When we pray, it’s about God. When we take the name Christian and relate to others out of that identity, it’s about God.

The practice of religion is best understood, I think, as honoring our Creator and preparing us for faithful living. When it draws attention to us, we’re doing something wrong.

Come On Down!
It's always interesting to see what people find to be important, and to what lengths they will go to give expression to their priorities.

Today's news includes the report that some folks traveled far and wide to camp out in line waiting to attend and watch Bob Barker's final day as the host of the television game show The Price is Right. Yahoo carries the report: "Philip Barrett, 24, of Tampa, Fla. had camped outside the studios since Saturday to see Barker tape his last show on Wednesday afternoon...'This is the chance of a lifetime,' he said...Barrett had to hear Barker say (his sign-off line, 'Have your pets spayed and neutered') one last time. 'I get teary-eyed just thinking about it,' he said."

Others made similar efforts to be present, and they gave their testimonies as well. Apparently, 35 years of flashing lights and spinning wheels awarding dinette sets, trips to Puerto Vallarta, and a year's supply of "Scrubbing Bubbles" means a lot to some people.

I can't even begin to remember all the reasons people of faith have given me for their inability (unwillingness, really) to attend worship. The service time is too early/late. They have kids who are involved in more important activities. They had a cold. It looked like it might rain. Someone said something they didn't like. The music wasn't to their taste, or was too loud.

I never have arrived at church to find someone camped out, waiting for the doors to open. There have been times when homeless people were found sleeping near the entrance, and the police were called to chase them away.

When Christians make worship a low priority, the spiritual health of the whole congregation suffers. Rather than relishing the memory of familiar words and teachings from Jesus, and reflecting on and learning from them once again, many folks act like they never heard them before. "I don't know how to pray." "It's difficult to read the Bible." "I don't know what God wants for my life."

Meanwhile, the emptiness of peoples’ lives is filled with trivialities.

Urgent Account Information!
Over the years I have changed email addresses to cut down on junk messages and spam. Currently, I am fairly free of such incoming trash. Only at the email address listed on the church's website do I receive spam. Most of it is fraudulent mail, telling me that my accounts, at banks with which I never in my life have done business, have been compromised, and unless I respond with current, correct information, my accounts, which never existed in the first place, will be suspended.

On occasion, I still receive messages from another of those mega-millionaires in Nigeria who need my help in transferring their vast wealth to the United States. I will be handsomely rewarded for helping them, of course.

Over the past couple of years, I have communicated with friends and others who forward bulk messages -- jokes, political diatribes, feel good chain letters, etc. -- telling them I always am glad to hear from them through a personal message, but please, keep me off the junk lists. They generally comply, but sometimes they don't send personal messages, either. I guess the forwarded stuff is their effort at keeping in touch.

My sense is that, thankfully, God doesn't set up message filters when it comes to our prayers. God receives an abundance of junk prayers, perhaps especially from those of us who truly know better (since we're the ones praying!).

But, when we pray, even in our most obstinate, selfish moments, we are letting God into our lives at least a little bit. God wants to be part of our lives, and I think that includes putting up with our "spam."

It seems to me God has the patience and time to sort through all the noise and clutter, and actually will see the essence of what is on our hearts. Our accounts won't be suspended because God already has all the personal information necessary.

The nature and frequency of our account activity is up to us.

Two Men And A Bird
“God is more than two men and a bird.” So states a quote I came across in my sermon preparation last week. It took me a second to figure out the reference, but I quickly realized it was supposed to be a description of the concept known as the Trinity. Last Sunday was designated in some Christian traditions as Trinity Sunday.

There likely were very few Disciples congregations that made mention of this. We Disciples have not really embraced the doctrine of the Trinity. Our forebears in the Restoration Movement that led to the establishment of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) expressed their faith in ways captured by some of the slogans of the movement: “No creed but Christ,” “No book but the Bible,” “Bible names for Bible things,” “Where the scriptures speak we speak; where the scriptures are silent, we are silent.”

The word Trinity is nowhere to be found in the Bible, and the doctrine arose apart from the scriptures. So, the Trinity is not something you typically hear described by name among Disciples. Of course, we know that the Trinity refers to the “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” description of God. (The “bird” in the quote above is from the baptism of Jesus, during which he saw the Holy Spirit descend from heaven in the form of a dove.)

Alexander Campbell went so far as to re-write the words of the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” changing the phrase, “God in three persons, blessed Trinity,” to “God over all and blessed eternally.” Curiously, the version of the hymn in the latest Disciples’ hymnal is not the Campbell-approved one.

During my oral exam at seminary, which was based on a paper we had to write summarizing EVERYTHING we learned at seminary and in our field experience, I made some comment about the Trinity not being a biblical concept. One of the examining professors, Dr. Gerald Janzen, an Anglican, roared back, “Oh, I am so TIRED of that CANARD!” So, you can see, there are those who take seriously the Trinity and the creeds affirming it. I might add, the other two professors taking part in the exam said nothing. They were Disciples.

While I acknowledge these facets of God: Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, I also never use the word Trinity, despite Dr. Janzen’s protest. I also believe that God is more than “two men and a bird.”

Of Those To Whom Much Has Been Given...
Sister Valerie Heinonen, a Catholic nun of the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, spends a lot of time holding to the fire the feet of the leaders of corporate America. According to the Washington Post, “For 30 years, Heinonen has been a familiar sight at shareholder meetings across the country, pressing financial services firms to support affordable housing or defense contractors to limit weapons sales. Now, the 66-year-old activist is seeking social justice through one of the hot-button issues of this spring's annual shareholder meetings: executive compensation.”

Sr. Valerie provides consultation to people of faith who are shareholders in U.S. corporations because, as she states, “"I think we have come to realize that the corporate governance issues are kind of a framework for social and environmental issues that we're concerned about."

Her work reminds me of something T. J. Liggett, then the president of Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, described to me and some other CTS students. T.J. told us that he owned a few shares of stock in a company that was making questionable policy decisions from the standpoint of social justice issues. He said he always attended shareholders’ meetings and challenged their policies and directions.

Finally, according to T.J., one of the officers of the board said to him, “Why must you always come to these meetings and embarrass us with your complaints.” T.J. replied to the man, “My criticism at these meetings isn’t embarrassing. What WOULD be embarrassing is if I and some other shareholders took out a full page ad in the Indianapolis Star telling the public about how, with all of your incredible wealth, you are ignoring the needs of others less fortunate than you.”

Sr. Valerie takes a positive, yet firm approach in her dealings with corporation board members and leaders, who see her as “graceful, respectful, fearless and relentless.” By dealing directly with the business people, in the manner of Dr. Liggett, and not trying to coerce or embarrass them, Sr. Valerie has productive interactions with those she tries to influence.

How Does Your Garden Grow?
An installment of Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel dealt with deserts and how life is sustained in those conditions. Mention was made of rainfall in mountains many miles away that ran downhill and washed through a flat area of the desert in a flash flood manner. The water was a once or twice a year occurrence, and the impact was phenomenal. The narrator, actress Sigourney Weaver, said that seeds dormant for thirty years sprouted.

I don’t know much about deserts. My only experience of one was driving across the Mojave Desert from Arizona into California and back a couple of years ago. With apologies to folks from desert areas, it’s not my cup of tea. Seeds laying around for a generation or more must get tossed around a good bit by wind, reptiles and perhaps in other ways. I wasn’t aware that a seed could still explode into life after that many years.

Jesus told the Parable of the Sower, who went about throwing seeds, seemingly in every direction and without much planning or precision. Some of the seeds he flipped around landed on the beaten path, some scattered throughout weeds and shallow soil, and some actually landed on good soil. The Sower apparently didn’t feel the need to be sparing in his actions. It appears to me he simply reached into his bag, grabbed a handful of seeds and flung ‘em all around.

Often when we read or hear that story, we reflect on which seeds we might be, i.e., the quality or character of our faith. Is our faith like the seeds on the rocky ground? Is our faith well-rooted in rich soil?

Maybe sometime we should think about identifying with the Sower, the one who tosses out the seeds. Where, to whom, and how do we witness to the faith? Are we discriminating in our dispersal of seeds? Do we decide that there is no point in wasting our time on some people, or that they are beyond hope or possibility? Are we stingy with the seeds?

Jesus seems to say – and the experience of the seeds in the desert on Planet Earth bear him out – “Just grab as many as you can and let ‘em fly! It’s not up to you where and when they sprout. But nothing will happen if you keep them in a closed container in the shed.”

Take A Number
People come to the church and to me with quite a variety of requests. Most are people showing up at the door, but other times it is members. People ask for personal loans, and for money to pay their bills, to buy the gas they need to get to that job that’s awaiting them in the next town, or for other reasons.

Some want me to refer church members for financial or real estate services they offer. I remember one man who suggested the church sell plaques on which he attached his original poems: “Who knows? Maybe God wants me to be rich." Another poet suggested we publish pamphlets of his poems to sell as a fund raising project.

From time to time I receive phone calls from strangers asking a question about some obscure issue they think is related to religion. Sometimes they call to pick an argument: “Is God omnipotent?” “Yes.” “Yeah, well, then what about Hitler? Why didn’t God stop Hitler?”

Occasionally, a request comes for a specific religious “product” or service: “I’m looking for a church to baptize my child,” or “I’m getting married in a few weeks and I am looking for a minister to do it and a church to have it in.” When I suggest that these kinds of events emerge from the life of the faith community and that we do such things for church members, I hear, “Well, what do I have to do to become a member?”

More often than not, what people seem to want from a church has little to do with what the church exists to offer: a relationship with God, the Creator of heaven and earth; opportunities for spiritual growth through participation in a worshipping fellowship of believers; a community of people with whom to share a spiritual journey grounded in prayer, study, and reaching out to others; and, an outlet for expressing the love of Christ each of us receives in our lives, with generosity and service through faithful stewardship of our money, abilities, and time.

Maybe the problem is people don’t really know why the church exists.

Wherever Two Or Three Are Gathered
The season of denominational assemblies and conventions is upon us, and hordes of the faithful will make their way to the host city, wherever that may be this time around. A friend told me his church was gathering in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Disciples will convene in Ft. Worth. Others will go elsewhere. It will be a time of worship, bible lectures, workshops, exhibits and business sessions. Some describe the gatherings as “family reunions.”

People will scavenge for magnets, pens, foamy objects to be squeezed for “stress relief,” and countless other items emblazoned with logos and web addresses. Books will be bought, some of which actually may be read, and name tags will be adorned with stick-on emblems of alma maters.

Innumerable chickens will give their lives, in the tradition of their ancestors, so that Christians from across the continent can overpay for mass-prepared mediocre banquet meals. Martin Marty once reported that a Southern Baptist Convention in Houston, I believe it was, featured deserted hotel bars, and bustling room service business.

My son Matt accompanied me to a Disciples General Assembly in Kansas City a few years back. Shuttle buses ferried us between our hotel and the convention center. One of the drivers in the rotation took advantage of his captive audience and performed a monologue over the intercom on the bus. The second time we were trapped listening to his act, the driver launched into his bit about how former president Harry Truman greeted the children when he came to town from his nearby home, patting them on the head. The punch line came around, as it had the last time, and when the driver asked, “…and do you know what became of those kids?” -- dramatic pause -- Matt blurted out the answer we heard before: “They became bus drivers!” “Uh…well…yes…that’s right…”

What will happen this year when people of faith gang up on an unsuspecting city? There are many opportunities in this time of war, this era of spiritual confusion, this new day of emerging alternate visions for what it means to be the church.