Fred Phelps and family, who I hear make up most of his “church” in Topeka, Kansas are at it again.  The fine folks of Westboro Baptist Church are the ones who show up at funerals for U. S. soldiers carrying signs and otherwise promote their judgment that God is killing our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan because the U. S. “condones” homosexuality.  I’m not sure what that means, exactly, since gays and lesbians have fewer civil liberties than most others.  Perhaps the good Rev. Phelps and family equate condoning with “allowing to live.”

Anyway, now they have decided that God hates Reno, Nevada.  (God also hates Sweden, Canada, Ireland, and Mexico, in case you were wondering – details are on their official hate website.  You might consult it prior to booking your next international voyage.)   It seems some designated haters (all in the name of the Lord, of course) weren’t especially welcomed in Reno at a funeral service for a U. S. serviceman, so now the whole town has made The List.

Iraq must really be in trouble, because not only are we (or is it God?) killing armed fighters there, but unaccounted-for thousands more civilians have lost their lives since the U. S. invasion several years ago.   Kenya, Darfur, Sri Lanka, and other places have seen terrible violence and death, as well. 

It’s kind of difficult to promote the “God is love” angle of scripture when God is sweeping across the globe in a killing rampage.  At least we have the Phelps family to interpret for us what really is happening.

Personally, I find it astounding that God can love even those who attribute the worst in human behavior to God.  But, when I consider the teachings of Jesus, and I discover his willingness to suffer innocently for his convictions as he trusts completely in God’s ability to create life even in places suffocating with death, well, that’s what I come up with. 

God is better at it than I am.

First they got a trademark on the name so anyone using it in advertising or promotion of their own products and services is required to pay a licensing fee.  Now they are warning churches not to host parties showing their trademarked event on large screen televisions bigger than 55 inches.

The National Football League, a gazillion dollar-a-year “industry” is holding Trademarked Event XLII this Sunday, and Christians had better not get together in multitudes to watch it.  Some very large men will be extremely unhappy if they do.

The idea is if a couple of hundred people get together in a church building to watch the game on a big screen, it will be detrimental to television ratings and will have a negative impact on advertising revenues.  Churches already know enough not to charge admission to their parties.

Sports bars are exempt from this aspect of copyright law governing the Trademarked Event.

I heard somewhere that the price for a thirty-second ad on this year’s Trademarked Event telecast was, I believe, four million dollars, and that Budweiser will be the leading subscriber with several minutes worth of commercials.  Hmmm…Sports bars sell Bud, in all of its forms, don’t they?

The policy in effect for the Trademarked Event actually applies to all NFL games, so Christian football fans only are allowed to gather in minimal numbers (how many can crowd around a 55-inch, or smaller, television?) to share in the fun.

Some folks aren’t taking this lying down (on the couch, or otherwise).  A spokesperson for a civil liberties group in Charlottesville, Virginia that specializes in freedom of religion matters is proposing a lawsuit, specifically on behalf of a church in Alabama that wants to gather its folks around a big screen television for a Trademarked Event Party.  He also is on the hunt for congressional sponsors for a bill to include churches among those exempt from the copyright law pertaining to NFL games.

Perhaps if the NFL is worried about ratings for the Trademarked Event, it could track water meters to get the most accurate data.  It has long been the case that there is a significant fluctuation in water pressure across the country during halftime.

The Christian Century reports that one of the megachurches held up as a shining model for others recently was startled to discover through a survey of its members that about one-fourth of the members felt their spiritual growth was going nowhere.  Some of them were “dissatisfied with the church, with many considering leaving,” according to the article.  The research revealed that, “increased involvement in church activities was not necessarily accompanied by a boost in spiritual growth.”

Some would refer to the increasing activities devoid of spirituality as “playing church.”  It also can, in my judgment, be an avoidance ploy, as the busyness shields folks from wrestling with what it means to be faithful to Jesus in an unrelentingly complex culture and society. 

Feeding the church organization or program does not automatically translate into a faithful witness.  A good proportion of the 17,000 worshipers who gather each week at the aforementioned church are coming to realize all of this.

One of the responses of the church is to post “next-step tools” on its official website, listing resources such as books and videos the people can consult for answers.  On their own.  Individually.  It truly is possible to be alone in the midst of a huge crowd of people.

In all fairness, some small-group discussion groups now are being offered at the megachurch, but it appears that the main approach to addressing the problem of stalled spirituality is to encourage the people to do things in isolation.  Good luck!

The megachurch, as it reacts to the revelations of the survey of its members is working with other churches in its “network” to establish a “fee-based system” for sharing resources and ideas with others.

While the worship center housing thousands of people on a Sunday morning may be gratifying to the preacher, the church bean counters, and those who are pacified by our culture’s “success” model, it appears that something different would be more conducive to the growth of God’s reign in the world.

I once heard of a congregation of twenty-some people who are engaged in big-time ministry to the homeless in their community.  Through a sense of calling in response to the needs around them, in partnership with others, they feed several times their number of people each week at the church.   Without charge.

More and more people are discovering that interpersonal relationships with others seeking spiritual growth lend support, insight, and inspiration to their own journeys, which ultimately become more meaningful as they are shared.

Spiritual practices such as worship, prayer, study, service, and giving engage the power of God and bring new life to the church, its people, and the ministry they share.

It seems we find numerous ways to let people know who we are.  I once knew a person who occasionally tried to perform simple magic tricks.   While he was a bit clumsy in his technique, he still had a yellow diamond-shaped sign hanging from a little suction cup affixed to a car window proclaiming, “Magician On Board.” 

In martial arts, there is a system of rank denoted by the color of a practitioner’s uniform belt.  One time when I mentioned my sons to the Grand Master of the Tae Kwon Do schools in which I practiced, he didn’t ask their ages, he simply queried, “What belt?”

When I lived around Washington, D.C., I often noticed tourists who let others know where they were from simply by clothing they wore:  ball caps, sweatshirts, jackets, and t-shirts revealed the answer to the question on everyone’s mind.  (I also suspect that when they returned home, they wore similar apparel or carried tote bags emblazoned with “Washington, D.C.,” or  “FBI,” or “National Gallery of Art,” so the homefolks would know they made the pilgrimage to our nation’s capital.)

Sean Daly of the St. Petersburg Times wrote a piece about the “I Voted” sticker handed out to those who exercised their constitutional right on election day.  He satirized the pride and the peer pressures inherent in being a good citizen.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds his listeners (and the modern reader) of behaviors distinctive to those who would follow him:  “You have heard it said,” Jesus remarked numerous times about matters such as anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, enemies, almsgiving, prayer, and more.  Then, he continued with something along the lines of, “but, I say to you…” and he gave his expectations and instructions.

I think Jesus really cut to the heart of the matter in Matthew, chapter 7:  “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit…Thus you will know them by their fruits.”

Someone else has said, “Great sermons are not preached, they are lived.”

At least one candidate for president has expressed the view that the U.S. Constitution should be amended to be in line with God’s will and intentions.  Good luck figuring out all of that.  Then try and get it ratified by two-thirds of the states.  The process quickly will reveal that not everyone understands God in the same ways or attributes similar thoughts and desires to God.  Who’s correct?

Donald Miller takes the view that the word “Christian” denotes “conservative politics, suburban consumerism and ‘an insensitivity to people who aren’t like us.’”  He got this impression by attending church, and he finally stopped going because it made him so angry.  He subsequently wrote his spiritual memoir to express his difference of experience and viewpoint.  Blue Like Jazz:  Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality was the result.  Not everyone likes his book, although five years after publication it reached number 18 last November on the New York Times list of best-selling nonfiction paperbacks.

The appeal of Miller’s book, it seems, mostly is among young spiritual seekers.  Many people, Miller discovered, are weary of the “us versus them mentality” found in a multitude of churches.  One supporter of Miller’s thoughts commented, “The typical judgmental, hate-filled, bigoted, more people knew what they were against than what we were for” approach does not reflect the “real God.”  The faith is supposed to be relevant to culture, not to dominate it, he suggested.

Makes sense to me.

I haven’t read Miller’s book, and have no plans to do so, but this discussion is pertinent as the church struggles in so many ways to find its place and strength.  While I find that the church is hampered by the stereotypes identified by Miller and others who share his perspective, I also am concerned by the trend toward individualized spirituality embraced by many of Miller’s devotees.

It would be one thing if the trend translated into people better equipped, as they interacted with others and with our culture, to witness to God’s love and ability to make all things new.  It’s something else again when the trend means “I’m getting my stuff together with God,” but there is no outward expression or effect.

When I read the Bible, I read about God’s interaction with persons, yes, but I also read about God’s interaction with a people – a people called to make God known and to be a blessing to others.

An effort has been made to portray presidental candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) as a Muslim, and to plant the idea that, consequently, he is a terrorist.  No doubt there are people only too happy to pass along this bit of misinformation, whether because they believe it (because of his name and family heritage), or because they are opposed to his candidacy (for a number of reasons -- pick one).

Of course, it is decidedly untrue, but Obama's campaign now is accelerating the pace in disputing these claims as southern states begin holding primaries.  Through his public statements, endorsement letters, and on his official website, Obama is touting the fact that he is a long-standing member of the United Church of Christ, and that if he is elected president, he will be "guided by his Christian faith."  He has stated, "I believe in the power of prayer."

The intent of this response, while no doubt genuine, is to appease the masses and make Obama an acceptable, if not appealing, candidate.

There have been times, and still are places, in which serious trouble resulted from making these kinds of self-assertions.  Check the New Testament, especially The Acts of the Apostles.   Review news accounts from officially atheistic or otherwise non-Christian nations.

Christianity in North America continues its descent into being a non-factor in our culture, despite some who cling to the myth that we are a "Christian nation," but there is no persecution of adherents.  In fact, the whole matter, on the whole, has become pretty "ho-hum," even among many church members.

Seeing a candidate as a "Christian," likely translates into, "he or she is not a threat to the status quo."  Sometimes it seems we imagine we have domesticated God.

Why were the Romans so opposed to Christians back in the First Century?  Why do oppressive regimes tightly clamp down on believers?

Perhaps they understand better than we the faith's potential for "turning the world upside down," an action attributed to the early followers of Jesus.

I remember once reading a poem about Dr. King that made the same point as the article mentioned above.  One of the phrases of the poem was, “now that he is safely dead…”  The poem, like the article, discusses the reality that King has become somewhat sanitized over the years, as the national holiday celebration tends to put him on a “pedestal of perfection that does not acknowledge his complex views,” according to Melissa Harris-Lacewell of Princeton University.

King’s views on the Vietnam war put him at odds with many who otherwise supported his efforts to end segregation.  His analysis of economic justice was not universally embraced.  Non-violence was losing some of its appeal to African-Americans who looked for change to come about more quickly.  The article above quotes author and professor Harvard Sitkoff as saying that at the time of his death, Dr. King was considered by many as a “pariah.” 

All of which is not to say we should not honor King and his memory.    

Let’s just make sure that we don’t make him so palatable to popular thought and opinion that we lose what he really was all about.

Last week I heard a bit on NPR that I thought was clever and amusing.  They did a news report about Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, and assigned a reporter to cover a couple of Bloomberg's public appearances to see if there were hints of a presidential campaign in the making.  The reporter devised a "bingo" card that had behaviors or traits of a candidate in each block.  As the reporter observed Bloomberg in action he checked off appropriate blocks to see if he could get a "Candidate Bingo."  You can see the Candidate Bingo card here.

I mentioned this routine in my sermon yesterday, and at one point wondered aloud what a bingo card for followers of Jesus might look like.  Of course, it would have "confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and Savior."  But, what else might be listed? 

I suggested that the expectations we have of church members would be there:  regular worship attendance; passionate prayer; serious study; willing service; and, generous giving.

Further possibilities, it seems to me, would include "transformed by a relationship with God and by the practice of spiritual disciplines;" "points others to Christ through words and actions;" "embraces God's desires for reconciliation with Creation;" and "aims high by expecting and anticipating God's ability to make all things new, and by responding with ministry to others in the name of Jesus Christ."

What would you put on a Follower of Jesus Bingo Card?

If someone saw you in action, and kept track on the card, would they get a  Bingo? 

Juashaunna Kelly is a senior in high school and an accomplished distance runner on her school’s track and field team.  She also is a Muslim.  So, she has a modified uniform that she wears when she competes, with a hood concealing her hair, long sleeves, and full leg coverings.  Still, she excels in her sport. 

She recently was disqualified from an invitational meet in Montgomery County, Maryland because her track uniform did not meet stated specifications.  So, this young lady who balances her faith commitments with her youthful exuberance for physical activity was told she could not join the other runners in the meet. 

A couple of days later, she was allowed to wear her uniform in another meet, this one in the District of Columbia, and she surpassed her previous best times in three running events, winning two of them and finishing second in the other.   

Coaches from other schools see no advantage for Juashaunna when she wears her unique uniform, but I suppose rules are rules, aren’t they? It sure makes things easier when everyone has to be the same – at least for those who make the rules.   

After Juashaunna ran so well at the meet in which she was allowed to be herself and compete, she remarked, “All the talk put a little pressure on me to go out and perform.”   

Good for you Juashaunna!  You keep it up and show people that their attempts to impose limitations on you are not going to work.

Rev. Barbara Lundblad told the following story in a sermon:              

I have a friend who is a pastor in Jersey City. A few years ago she brought a parishioner into New York City for cancer treatment at Sloan Kettering Hospital. Rather than return home, she spent the waiting hours at my apartment on the third floor of the church where I was a pastor. I left for a morning meeting; my friend stayed into the afternoon. As she was walking downstairs to leave, a longtime member of the church was walking up. "Oh, hello," she said to my friend. "Were you here to clean Pastor's apartment?"

Rev. Lundblad continued:  Now, why did she ask that question? There were many other things she could have said. She didn't know my friend so she had no way of knowing that my friend is a gifted guitarist and songwriter. She graduated with honors from Girls' High in Philadelphia and later from the Lutheran seminary in that same city. She's a caring pastor and a passionate preacher. So why did our church member assume my friend had come to clean my apartment? You know, don't you? My friend is African-American. 

What do people think of you, and why do they make their assumptions?  If you indicate to others that you are a Christian, what do they think then?   

Many seem to feel contempt for people of faith in today’s culture.  The words and actions of some who wear their “Christianity” on their shirtsleeves have a deleterious effect on the opinion of observers, and the rest of us suffer for it. 

I think a different witness is called for in a world already ruptured by bitterness, division and alienation.