Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell yesterday issued a report of his investigation into the extent of the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.  Over the course of a few hundred pages, Sen. Mitchell detailed evidence and accusations of which current and recent baseball players were sticking hypodermic needles in their hind ends in order to hit a ball further or throw it harder.  He mentioned the common lament of players who did not cheat that their jobs were taken by those who did.  I suppose some people will be surprised by the degree to which the situation exists, and by which of their heroes are cheaters.

It’s remarkable, though, the measures some people will take, even risking their long-term health and well-being, in order to be successful.  Of course, there is a mountainous pile of money on the baseball table, and on average, playing careers are brief.  (There are no dollars from me, though.  As much as I like baseball, I have a personal rule:  I don’t attend games if I have to pay to get in, and I don’t subscribe to baseball Internet, radio, or television packages.  Besides, I have difficulty just sitting around for three hours.)

Office politics, lying, manipulation and who-knows-what-else are vehicles for getting ahead in other professions, so moral slippages are not unique to baseball players.

In the church it often seems that “performance-enhancers” are avoided.  Worship attendance is spotty.  Participation in classes and study groups is regarded as if it were a form of punishment.  The pages of the best-selling book of all time generally remain safe from light-exposure.  Encouragement to faithful stewardship of one’s material wealth is resented.  Evangelism is someone else’s job, because “I’m not comfortable talking to people about my faith.”  Well, it’s no wonder, when there isn’t much to discuss.

At least, we aren’t cheating.  Or are we?  It seems sadly ironic that there is so much striving and climbing and looking for short cuts in order to grab hold of “bread which does not satisfy,” and at the same time such half-hearted (quarter-hearted?) attempts at living into the “peace that passes all understanding.” 

Martin Marty’s back page column in the current Christian Century describes the “sense of pathos about those who seek their place in the world by buying or renting a purse.”  He mentions name-brand handbags costing thousands of dollars that are purchased as status symbols.  The 25 Chanel bag sold for $25,000 a pop, and Neiman-Marcus had no difficulty unloading their inventory.  “For those who prefer to go slumming,” Marty reports, “or to look as if they are going slumming, there is a handbag called ‘hobo.’”  The prices range from $750 to $1,750. 

And yes, for those not willing to shell out outrageous sums for a handbag that will be passé in a few months, there are rentals available.  One coveted model can be carried about for a mere $6,010 per month for the rental.

I don’t even carry a wallet.

In the same magazine and elsewhere, I read about “Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping.”  They are featured in the film What Would Jesus Buy?    The good (and pretend) reverend is a person named Bill Talen, who traveled the country visiting stores like Target, Wal-Mart, the Disney Store (“Mickey Mouse is the Anti-Christ,” he declared), and Starbucks, making a spectacle of himself and the store, lamenting the effect of big chains on “Main Street America,” setting up a booth in which consumers can “confess your shopping sins,” “exorcising shopping demons,” interviewing independent shop owners, sharing disturbing facts of child labor used to produce much of our clothing and other items, and otherwise trying to convince consumers to avoid the “shopocalypse.”

As the Christian Century article reports, “The Church of Stop Shopping has fairly modest goals: it wants people to shop in ways that support the local economy; it wants businesses to be good for workers and not just for corporate shareholders; it wants just treatment of workers around the world.”

Rev. Billy wants people to have a “creative Christmas,” avoiding the “dread” that is part and parcel of the high expectations of gift giving imposed on people by themselves and others.

As I drove to work this morning, I passed a Baptist church with this message on its sign out front:  “What will you give Jesus for Christmas?”

Whatever it is, I doubt I can find it at the mall.

The days of 2007 quickly are running out.  How has it been for you?  Remember way back on New Year’s Day when you had your list of resolutions, and a wide-open calendar ahead of you?  So many possibilities existed, and there was time for them all. 

Maybe as you get ready to hang that 2008 calendar there still is some unfinished business rolling over, and some of your resolutions for the upcoming year are sounding a little familiar.

In our Advent readings, John the Baptist minced no words with the folks within earshot.  He told them, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is coming near.”  And when some of the temple leaders wandered out to hear him, John focused some sharp sentiments on them:  “You brood of vipers!” (Matthew 3)

John the Baptist was looking for transformation in the lives of God’s people.  Interestingly enough, the transformation was to happen prior to the appearance of Jesus, the one toward whom John was pointing.  He didn’t say to the people, “Boy, are things going to change when Jesus shows up.  He’ll straighten you out!”  Rather, he called on the people to get themselves and their act together before then. 

In other words, “Be ready for the one who is coming.”

John was very direct in his proclamation.  He was “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”

Sometimes it seems we look to Jesus to fix things in our lives, to bail us out of the messes we ourselves make with our poor choices, knee-jerk reactions, or accommodations to cultural pressures.  John is telling us to take another approach.

He is saying, “Re-order your priorities.  Overhaul your thinking.  Stop wasting your time on foolish and counterproductive behaviors.”  Remember, he was talking to God’s people. 

John wanted God’s people to be ready to embrace the blessing they were about to receive.  Jesus was going to show up.  The people needed to clear the decks so there would be room for him in their lives.                        

There was a video story on MSN today about an attempted robbery of a 92 year old woman in Tennessee.  When she got into her car following a shopping spree at Wal-Mart, a man jumped into the passenger seat next to her.  He claimed to have a gun and demanded that the woman hand over all of her money or he would shoot her.

 She said, "No."

The woman, it turns out, is a devout person who spends time each day reading the Bible.  Three times she refused to give in to the man's threats, and finally she told him, "Just as fast as you shoot me, I'll go to heaven, and you will go to hell.  Jesus is in this car with me, and he goes with me everywhere I go."

The robber looked around a little bit, thought about what she said, and began to cry.  The woman talked to him for ten minutes about what he was doing with his life, and how God could help him.

Finally, he told her he would go home that night and pray.  She said, "You can pray anywhere at anytime.  You don't have to wait until nighttime."

The woman took $10 from her purse and willingly gave it to the man, who thanked her, then kissed her on the cheek and left her car, walking away.

Try this link to get the video report.

Many churches are making use of current technology in their worship services.  Video screens, projectors, streaming audio and video, and other tools have been embraced as means of communicating the gospel either in person, over closed-circuit television feeds, or even the Internet.

Opinions vary over the appropriateness of the use of these approaches, and the degree to which they should be employed in church services.

A pastor in Mitchellville, Maryland remarked, "I feel like it's too much and it takes over the worship.  People will just be sitting there, their eyes fixated on the screen.  They're waiting to be given something, rather than participating."

Some sixty percent of churches are online with a website, high-volume email capability, and the like.  Some provide downloadable files of services and sermons.  Crews of techo-wizards run the boards at some of the megachurches because, as sociologist Scott Thumma put it, "This is not church like your grandparents did it.  This has something to say about life today."

In one case, the folks in the pews were invited to send text-messages to the pastor as he was preaching on a particular Sunday, and he worked their comments into his sermon.  Talk about multi-tasking!  "Prayer is supposed to be a conversation," said the pastor.  "We did this to help people engage in the conversation live during the service."

The article containing all of this information shared a variety of viewpoints and experiences along the lines of technologically enhanced worship services.  Some, of course, lamented the "entertainment" aspect of it all.  Others saw this approach as the wave of the future, with great promise for attracting people.

No one addressed the issue of community. 

It seems as if people are viewing worship as an individualistic endeavor, to be experienced either in a group where everyone's attention is focused on a flickering image, or in isolation in front of the computer screen at home or elsewhere apart from the actual church building.

I have no doubt that worship services always can be improved and that ways of greater relevance can be found.  Likely, the use of current technology can help on both fronts.  But, I think we must remember always that people are in this together.  The church is not merely a gaggle of consumers of religious products.

The church is a people drawn together under God, sharing worship, spiritual growth, and life in relationship with our Creator and with one another.

The newsletter of Disciples Home Missions, Home Mission Advocate, provides ideas and resources relevant to the ministry and life of congregations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  Each issue contains articles and suggestions on transformation, children and youth ministries, mission projects, and other topics of interest to churches.  If you do not already receive this publication and wish to be added to the mailing list, you may subscribe online.

The current issue includes a notice of the online availability of 50 Ways To Build Strength, a series of papers outlining ideas for growth in areas such as church finances, stewardship, children and youth, membership, adult education, communication, and more.  Each is available free of charge.  Just download the ones you want.

This resource is provided by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, which is connected with Wesley Theological Seminary, a United Methodist-related institution in Washington, DC.

One time I pulled a Bible from a shelf in the library.  Inside the front cover, someone had stamped a disclaimer from an Atheists Society of some sort.  I wish I could recall the exact wording (perhaps I should head to the local library), but it was a WARNING! about the dangers of the Bible to thinking people.   The same imprint appeared in all the Bibles in that library.

Personally, I find it's the non-thinking people who use the Bible that cause more problems, but that's just my observation.

Christian Century reported an item from a publication or news service called Third Way in which a person whose parents were atheists finds validity in Christian teachings and ethics.  While he claims he could not become a person of faith, he made sure his own children had a Christian education.

Niall Ferguson, the atheist in question, said, "If I had to choose an ethical system to make generally available, I would choose the teachings of Christ.  There's no superior atheistic alternative if you want to make a society behave well."

Again, while we must acknowledge that many, many Bible-reading/believing Christians don't behave so well, I find it interesting that an atheist would refer to Jesus as "Christ."

Hmmm.  Is it perhaps an unconscious confession of faith?

Having committed to memory just about every episode of Seinfeld, I’m often reminded of something from the show.  Hearing about various alternative ways of Christmas gift-giving brings to mind the episode in which Jerry’s best friend, George Costanza, a noted cheapskate who is frustrated by “everything becoming a gift-giving occasion,” tries to pull a fast one on his co-workers.  As everyone else is exchanging holiday gifts, George hands out cards saying, “A donation has been made in your name to the Human Fund.”  The recipients are caught off-guard by this, but try to pretend they are honored by this “gift.”  Of course, there is no Human Fund, and George has honored no one – and has laid out no money.

One of the things we’re doing at our church this year is offering an alternative to buying poinsettias for the sanctuary in honor or memory of a loved one, friend, etc.  There is a small Christmas tree in the back of the sanctuary on which we will hang bows for each contribution for a gift fund to be donated to a local elementary school with low-income children.  The contributions may be made in honor or memory, as well, like the poinsettias. 

Another church where I served had an “Angel Tree” every Christmas.  The ornaments on the tree were tags with the names of young people who had a parent in prison and their Christmas requests.  I was moved one year by the humility of the request on the tag we drew.  It was for a middle school-aged boy who requested a pair of blue jeans and a Monopoly game.

A church in Oklahoma has begun a tradition of holding a “Charitable Market of Blessings.”  The church invites charitable organizations to provide booths with information about their work, or perhaps with some items to sell.  People can make contributions in honor of others, or buy the items as gifts.  One of the organizers, Jeanette Heitfeld, said, “We felt last year those who came could do 100 percent of their shopping right there. They weren’t giving things that family and friends didn’t want. The giver and the recipient and the mission all gained from it — a three-way win-win-win.”

In 2006, the church raised $8,000 for the organizations, despite receiving ten inches of snow the night before the event.  They hope to increase that amount substantially this year.

Other churches are establishing similar opportunities for alternative Christmas celebrations and sharing.  Websites for organizations such as Global Ministries and Alternatives have information and resources available for those who want to explore these options and possibilities.

It has been my good fortune to meet innumerable interesting people over the course of my life and career.  Some were well-known, others well to know.  One of my favorites was Rev. William Sloane Coffin. He is now deceased, and the world is a lesser place because of it.      

Coffin was a person who possessed tremendous personal charisma, backed up by a clear awareness of what was happening in the world, why it was happening and how lives were affected.  He also expressed himself with directness that cleanly cut through any nonsense.  He was a person of joyous faith, funny and generous in spirit.  I noticed in reading his books and hearing him speak that he liked to use quotations to emphasize his points.  His favorite seemed to be, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” a sentiment attributed to Lord Acton.                                                          

Rev. Coffin served as chaplain at Yale University during the tumultuous days of Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement, and took an active role as a witness for peace.  He was the senior minister at Riverside Church in New York for a good while, and spent some time in Washington as the president of a peace organization.  I spent time with him in New York, St. Louis, and Washington.                        

Twice I was able to arrange for Coffin to meet with William Penn House groups during my tenure as Executive Director.  The first time was a gathering of my ministerial colleagues from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of the Capital Area Region.  Coffin came to WPH and we all sat around the downstairs meeting room for an hour or two having a free-for-all discussion.  It was great.                                

His second visit was with a group of seminary students attending our biennial Historic Peace Churches Seminarians Conference.  Friends, Mennonites and Brethrens gathered, but the group was large enough that we couldn’t house them all at WPH.  Half of the group used accommodations provided in the basement of a Capitol Hill church.  The meeting with Coffin occurred there.

As I waited for him to show up that evening, I stood on the sidewalk outside the church visiting with several of the students.  A taxi pulled up and I said, “I believe Rev. Coffin has arrived.”  The students all scurried back inside the church, Coffin stepped out of the cab, and we exchanged greetings.  He laughed as he said he was just coming from an event where a person received some award or other.  “She’s for peace, dammit!” Coffin said, his eyes full of fun.  I knew just what he meant, a kind of holier-than-thou attitude I occasionally observed among “peace” people outmaneuvering each other for the moral high ground.  The peace game can become very competitive at times.

The group had a lively discussion with Coffin that night, and I noticed as I sat next to him that he turned toward me when he made his more radical comments.  I was glad that in some small way I made him feel safe.  Following the program, he was very gracious as numerous students approached him for a personal word.                          

Finally, I asked him, “Can I drop you somewhere?”  “You’ve got a car?  You’re sure you don’t mind?”  “Just tell me where you want to go.”  It turned out he was living at the time a block or two off of Connecticut Avenue NW, so we set off together into the Washington night.

It was a rare privilege for me to spend time alone in the car with Coffin, engrossed in a wonderful conversation, driving by the illuminated national monuments, startlingly crisp and bright against the dark sky, past the Kennedy Center, the Watergate Apartments, and along the suddenly wooded and steep-cliffed Rock Creek Parkway.   We talked about preaching, about some places he recently visited, a little about my experiences in ministry.  When we finally reached our destination I was sorry the moment was over, but thankful another special memory entered the files.  It was a very good night, my favorite during my time at William Penn House.  

I have a small picture of William Sloane Coffin on a bookshelf in my office, and I always smile when I look at it.

Arun Gandhi, grandson of the Mahatma, bluntly states that "materialism is weakening families," because people caught up in materialism are "selfish and self-centered."  He suggests that families are facing a "what's in it for me?" attitude when it comes to the bonds linking family members, and that there is "an inverse relationship between materialism and morality.  When one increases, the other decreases.”

It seems this is having an effect on some churches and church institutions, as well.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, is gathering information from numerous megachurch and television pastors regarding the use of contributions made to the pastors and their churches.  Sen. Grassley is curious whether everything is on the up and up, given what he terms the "luxurious lifestyles" of these particular pastors.  Are the contributions being used as directed by the donors?  Are tax laws being followed?

What is the effect of materialism on these wealthy spiritual leaders?

Richard Roberts, son of television evangelist Oral Roberts, recently stepped down as president of his father's university.  His leadership was questioned, and the focus was on his handling of finances.  Some claim he "misspent school funds to support a lavish lifestyle and ordered an accountant to help hide improper and illegal financial wrongdoing."

Jim Bakker spent time behind prison bars for the way he used money contributed to his television "ministry."  Others have wrestled with money and its temptations.  Jesus talked more about money and wealth than about most other subjects.  So, he knew it was and would be an issue for his followers.

Many people of faith vehemently condemn gays and lesbians, based most often on what they hear others claim the Bible says about homosexuality.  Percentage-wise, the usually referred-to verses of scripture are miniscule in comparison to teachings about wealth.  Yet, exceedingly more people shout about the "threats" of homosexuality to families than about the threats of materialism.

Could it be because most of us are caught up in materialism, and we refuse to acknowledge its insidious grip on our lives?