“To understand the Christian Right, you need to understand not what they think or even what they believe. You need to begin by discovering what they are afraid of.”
-Tom Sine, from Cease Fire: Searching for Sanity in America’s Culture Wars, quoting himself in the Nov. 2009 issue of Sojourners.
it was a couple weeks ago – a saturday morning, when i found myself in the kansas city airport. i had just gotten done with the leadership institute at the church of the resurrection and was en route to a friend’s wedding in baltimore. i had just sat down near the gate when i noticed three women – two were in their late teens, the third (presumably their mother) in what i would guess to be in her 40s. what was striking about these three were the brightly colored t-shirts they were wearing – all advertising websites in large, bold letters. the girls’ shirts said “www.signmovies.net” the mom’s shirt was “www.thesignsofthetimes.net”. knowing they probably weren’t promoting m. night shyamalan’s movie from a couple years ago, nor did they seem to be prince fans, i decided to look up their site on my phone, fully expecting it would point to something a little crazy (like biblical proof that president obama is the antichrist.
what i got was a little more than what i expected, as my phone’s web browser immediately pointed to westboro baptist church. for those who don’t know westboro baptist is a small church in topeka, kansas led by fred phelps, known for its protests, most notably at funerals, where they condemn individuals, families, denominations, and the nation for associations (however tangental) to homosexuality. now, regardless of where you might stand on the issue, my hope is that most people who stumble across this blog can agree that the particular tactics employed by fred and his family members are about as far from christ-like-ness as you can get.
to say the least i’m not a big fan of fred, and if fred knew me – my theology and politics – he’d be condemning me to hell along with just about everyone else he meets. i knew these women weren’t going to be busting out their signs mid-flight and start protesting, but i couldn’t help but reflect how strange it felt to be on a flight with a group of people whose theology was so diametrically opposed to my own.
we were flying southwest – i’m a fan of their cheap flight and open seating – but on this occasion i didn’t arrive early enough to get in an early boarding group – meaning i was bound for the back of the plane when it was my turn. the westboro women were seated near the front which was fine, because in my mind i was already considering scenarios where we would be seated together and they would take it upon themselves to convert/condemn me.
but the flight has a stopover in chicago before moving on to baltimore, and as all the chicago bound travelers left the plane, i moved closer to the front, and without realizing the westboro women were also traveling on to baltimore, sat myself two rows behind them. in chicago, the flight crew also changed, and it was fascinating to see that the new flight crew was mostly male, including the head flight attendant. as southwest flight crews are prone to do, the head attendant began to sing as the plane pushed back from the runway – doing his best tina turner impression – “big wheels keep on turning, this airplane is rolling; rolling, rolling, rolling down the runway.” he then encouraged everyone else on the plane to join him in singing, to which the young women from topeka immediately take him up on. afterwards the flight attendant compliments them on their singing, and throughout the flight they begin this rapport.
sitting two rows back i can’t help but think how bizarre this whole flight has become. while i’m obviously not certain about the head flight attendant’s sexuality, he stuck me as a little effeminate, and certainly had a proclivity for channeling tina, so i was assuming he was among the folks fred is convinced “God hates”. (i remember seeing an episode of airline where they were interviewing a flight attendant and he said something to the effect of “i’m an unmarried man in his mid-30s working as a flight attendant – you do the math”). again, i’m making a huge assumption here but as this plane is drawing near to baltimore (not far from the glbt march for equality taking place in washington dc that weekend – where i’m pretty sure the westboro women were headed to protest), it really seems that the westboro women are completely unaware of this man’s (likely?) sexuality, and he (naturally) knows nothing of their politics or theology.
and then just as the flight begins it’s descent – just moments before the captan gives the “buckle your seatbelts and put the tray tables in the upright position” announcement – the girls ask the flight attendant if he’ll sing another song with them. the four begin harmoninzing, singing:
precious Lord, take my hand
lead me on, let me stand,
i am tired, i am weak, i am worn,
through the storm, through the night,
lead me on, to thy light
take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home
it was a moment that struck me as completely crazy and totally beautiful. a taste of what the kingdom will one day be like, when differences are placed aside, when our common need for grace can be affirmed, and God might be praised. it was a reminder for me that music has the power to unite, that even i need to be careful whom i choose to vilify. because even those wrapped up in a theology of hate can (unknowingly) send a message about inclusion and love.
to me there is something wonderful about driving around on a friday afternoon (especially in the fall) listening to music. it was also on fridays that i had my college radio gig, which i still get a little nostalgic for from time to time, so today just a couple videos to entertain.
They Might be Giants:
The Mountain Goats:
Good stuff in this month’s Circuit Rider –
From Nathan Kirkpatrick:
“Too often, when young leaders are discussed in meetings it is with a certain institutional desperation, as if clergy under 35 will fix all that presently ails the insitiution. Given the tone and tenor of many of these conversations, it would be understandable if young clergy came to see themselves as either the emerging leaders of an intitiution that is limping into its last days or as those who must change everything about the church if there is hope for its survival…
“It is tempting for young clergy to believe that we will make our ‘real’ contributions to the church’s life when we are serving as the senior pastor of the big steeple church, as a district superintendent, as a staff memeber of a general board of agency, or as a dean of a seminary. After all, these are the people we have been taught to see as ‘having power in the insitiution,’ and in many ways, these are the people who do have power. Often they feel more like bosses to us right now than partners with us. Yet, if we as young leaders believe the myth that the only meaningful change happens at these levels in the life of the church, we delude ourselves and abdicate our responsibility” (emphasis added)…
“Finally-It is essential that we have communities of accountability and support as we lean to lead in our own ways.”
And from Sara Thomas:
“I desire a church that claims our connectedness, embodies organic systems, and continually cultivates opportunities for people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus. We have a network buit into our nature as a connectional church; unfortunately, we do not use it well. I see every opportunity to create meaninful networks of churches, collaborating as teams to leverage influence for the kingdom. A tension exists when the competition with the church down the road becomes our primary connection. While healthy competition competition can motivate uswithin our connection creates both accountability and kingdom opportunity. I am not willing to sacrifice either.
i’ve started reading N.T. Wright’s book Simply Christian and have already come across this gem:
The point of following Jesus isn’t simply so that we can be sure of going to be better place than this after we die. Our future beyond death is enormously important, but the nature of the Christian hope is such that it plays back into the present life. We’re called, here and how, to be instruments of God’s new creation, teh world-put-to-rights which has already been launched in Jesus and of which Jesus’ followers are supposed to be not simply beneficiaries but also agents. (from Introduction pg. xi)
Seth Godin on social networks:
His key point is that social networking (ie facebook, twitter, etc) is only valuable to the degree that it fosters real relationships; if it’s not building conversation, trust and a willingness to serve and do for others it simply becomes a meaningless time waster.
This summer I’ve also been reading Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky and came upon this quote:
“We don’t often talk about love when trying to describe the public world, because love seems too squishy and too private. What has happened, though, and what is still happening in our historical moment, is that love has become a lot less squishy and a lot less private. Love has a half-life too, as well as a radius, and we’re used to both of those being small. We can affect the people we love, but the longevity and social distance of love are both constrained. Or were constrained – now we can do things for strangers who do things for us, at a low enough cost to make that kind of behavior attractive, and those effects can last well beyond our original contribution. Our social tools are turning love into a renewable building material. When people care enough, they can come together and accomplish things of a scope and longevity that were previously impossible; they can do big things for love.”
One small example of how I’ve recently seen this at work was in a simple status update my friend Jeff posted on facebook a couple weeks ago. He made a quick reference about meeting a homeless family in the park, and asked if anyone knew of some resources that might help them. People came through, and within 48 hours the family was in a hotel room. It was a quick appeal on Jeff’s part a few years ago getting that kind of support might have meant spending a few hours on the phone; now all it took was a simply status update (2-3 minutes of his time). But also, the response was based on this network of people who actually know Jeff and know his judgement and insight can be trusted, leading them to step up and assist this family. There is beauty and power in social networking, but we must always be careful that the medium always be a medium for that larger work of love – helping others and changing lives, instead of becoming an idol of love unto itself.
ted was at garrett after i had graduated, so i never had the chance to meet him, but he has some pretty interesting things to say here. in particular pay attention to: too many words, procedure for organizing a new congregation, and the “welch republic”.
mike slaughter has some good thought on “church as building” here
