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True Servant Leadership

Pope Francis is not perfect, of course. No one is.  Changes come slowly in the Roman Catholic Church, but things are changing. The Pope has taken the Roman Catholic Church back to the words of Jesus. Francis began his life in humble circumstances and as a priest preached a message of love and acceptance. Here is what I see the Pope doing.

Pope Francis has made his office humble again. Sometimes it’s the little gestures that mean a lot. One of the first was choosing not to live in the papal apartments generally used by the Pope. Instead Francis chose a much more humble abode.  A Pope is not a king or an emperor or someone who should have a 20-room house. He, also, takes his meals with those who work at the Vatican. He has ditched the Mercedes-Benz-bulletproof-popemobile in favor of an open-air version from Hyundai. It’s not quite riding on a donkey, but it’s a good 21st century equivalent.

Pope Francis is concerned about climate change. His recent encyclical on the environment was an amazing statement by a Pope who believes in both God and science. Here are some quotes:  “Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years.” “We are not God. The Earth was here before us and was given to us.” “The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all.” “We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family.”

Pope Francis is making progress on gay rights. He has said: “If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” Not a game-changer but it opens the door in the Catholic Church. There are reports that Pope Francis will push for a blessing for gay couples to be conducted by priests in the Church. It’s not an endorsement of gay marriage, but it’s a start.

Pope Francis is no fan of capitalism. The Bible spends a lot of time talking about the poor and Pope Francis gets it.  Here are two quotes from him:  “Working for a just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy. It is a moral obligation. For Christians, the responsibility is even greater: it is a commandment.”  “The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose. The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for human beings; man is reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption.”

The Pope is reaching out to non-believers. He speaks more about how people act than what they believe. There’s a place in Pope’s world for those who aren’t Christian, and that world can be just as godly as that of a Christian believer. Francis has been doing more than not casting the first stone, I think he’s been gathering them up and hiding them in those now unused papal apartments.

If We Allow Them To Be....

Most of us have seen the tragic photographs of 3 yr old Aylan Kurdi laying dead on a Turkish beach. I know that there are people who disapprove of the use of photographic images, but the truth is that people don’t respond emotionally to statistics and facts the same way that they respond to a photo. Sometimes we need to see the consequences of our actions, or inactions, before we really understand what it is that we’ve done and what it is that we’ve failed to do.

It’s easy to say that the problem is on the other side of the world and the problem for European nations, some who are using the excuse of the fear of losing their cultural identities to avoid offering humanitarian aid. The fact is that this particular little boy had an aunt in Canada who had been trying for several years to sponsor him and his family to come there.

This is an international issue, one that implicates our countries here in North America as much as it implicates our allies in Europe. It’s a problem that requires a coherent and concerted international response. We all need to work to help these people to find a place of safety.

Aylan’s story is our story. I can’t help but think of the stories of my family, who came to America, without documentation, fleeing the wars of the 19th century taking place in Europe. All our families have similar stories. And remember this: in the aftermath of World War II, Europe was awash with refugees. The conflict had displaced huge numbers of people, and an international response was required.

Our responsibility to care for those who are cast out of their homes by conflict and war is immediate — but when we become accustomed to the idea that we live in a safe, developed, peaceful part of the world we can easily forget that it’s not long ago that Europe itself was a bloodbath, and that the people seeking help were white, European Christians.

It’s easy to forget that these refugees became a part of our culture here in the United States and Canada.  Whether the 19th or 20th century, many of us would not be alive today if our ancestors hadn’t been welcomed here. The Syrian refugees aren’t just inconvenient bodies, a political problem — they’re future citizens. If we allow them to be.

Sunday Sermon August 2, 2015

Progressive Christianity a Microbrewed Faith

We haven't talked about Progressive Christianity for some time and it been running through my mind this Thursday morning . Progressive Christianity doesn’t belong to a denomination, and it doesn’t have a culture that it used always and everywhere. Progressive Christianity has sprung up among every mainline denomination and have started making inroads into evangelical churches. Some Progressive Christians are charismatic, and others follow Quaker practices, and some write new songs while others retain the high liturgies of the past. Progressive Christianity has no creed or hymnal, and it certainly has no pope or moderator, but Progressive Christianity has a style and an ethos—a wildness and an openness that has historically signaled the onset of a lasting movement.

Progressive Christianity seems to me to be akin to micro-brews and less like Bud Light; those beers that are pumped out in batch after batch in industrial quantities at a remarkable consistency. Instead, Progressive Christianity is unpredictable, fiercely local and particular, and possessed of a energy that isn’t found in mass-market products.  Instead, Progressive Christianity seems to be fermenting with wild yeast, in open containers that get cross-seeded with other batches in other places. It seems to be a matter of different makeup, with different values and processes and even different stories. This movement seems to be organic and vital in a way that denominational bodies haven’t been, and it seems to be wild in a way that bodes well for its survival.

Some Progressive Christian communities meet in houses, and others nest in the buildings of various denominations. Some have a pastor, and others do not. Some Progressive Christians fall into the category of emerging/emergent, and others belong to traditional denominations, and some are both at the same time. Some live by ancient practices, and others innovate their liturgies and music. No one thing characterizes them all–not even theology.

The defining characteristic seems to be a discontent with the status quo, and a recognition that life is draining out of the old institutions with every passing generation. Progressive Christianity is propelled forward by the notion found in its name–progress–but also by a impatience that is born of seeking Truth, whatever that may take us.

Sunday Sermon - July 26, 2015

Sunday Sermon July 19, 2015