Another hopeful drop in the bucket...

 Before posting this, I need to acknowledge my complicity in gratuitously posting "shameful" and "outrageous" things on Facebook.  Far too often have I stumbled across something that irks my conscience (or that easily lends itself to ridicule, condemnation or judgment - at least from my cultural perspective) and thoughtlessly chosen to share it with others.  Obviously I suffer from the common sin of deriving some hidden and perverse gratification in pointing out the sins of others (cf. Luke 18:11-12 -- I expect this was one of the things Paul had in mind when writing Ephesians, esp. 4:8).  For that I am truly sorry, and ask your forgiveness.  I am grateful to the Lord for revealing this to me, and repent of that unhelpful practice.

That said, I honestly believe this post (and others like it) is of a different character.  As far as I can tell, this post elicits in me no spiritual smugness, no personal sense of ethical superiority; it seeks not the affirmation of friends with "likes" and complementary outrage.  I post this (and other similar posts) not out of a juvenile desire to be part of a moralistic "pile on"; rather, I share this out of a much deeper conviction that the particular racism that is peculiar to our country and endemic in our culture thrives in a context of ignorance and denial - particularly when that context is largely white and privileged - i.e., like myself, and many of my friends.

Some of you may be tempted to categorize this post as "the confessions of a bleeding heart liberal." OTOH, many of you would never even consider using the adjective "liberal" to describe me.  ;-)  Understand that I post this not as a "call to action," nor as a disingenuous plea to whites to exhibit greater politeness and consideration towards people of color.  I post it simply because, in my personal experience, the cultural context of most white Americans' daily lives admits little to no consideration of the context in which so many black and brown Americans live.  (And to be clear, their context is DOMINATED -- with all the connotations that word brings -- by white culture).  This is not a condemnation so much as it is simply an observation.  There are only so many hours in every day, and they are so easily filled to overflowing by a multitude of cares and worries, media and hype, calendars and activities, that many important things are simply left unattended to.

This is one of those important things.  And I believe it to be of supreme importance for the Church.  God's Incarnation in Jesus - Emmanuel - was the paradigmatic manifestation of holy and perfect love, in that God left behind the glories of heaven in order to be with us, to dwell among us, to be our neighbor (cf. John 1:14, "The Message" translation).  However, most whites in the US are neither domestic nor occupational neighbors with people of color (again, not a judgment, just an observation of a fact, a fact that derives from a multitude of factors, some of them quite innocent).  Consequently, many white folk are unaware that the Damoclean sword of unprovoked, unexpected, and completely random murder -- because of one's skin color -- utterly dominates the daily thoughts of many of our brothers and sisters of color.

That horrible truth will not be changed with one post, or with a thousand posts.  It will only be changed when we, in love, choose to "be with" our brothers and sisters whose lives are thus dominated.  But when circumstance militates against that physical, incarnational "withness," God can use even the internet -- even Facebook and blog posts -- to bring their voices into our lives.  And when our lives are lived with others, then, I pray, our lives -- our choices, our words, our decisions, our actions -- will bear more faithful witness to the whole of God's kingdom.  With this post, I hope to contribute one small drop to that bucket of hope.

God and Mammon

I recently opened an email from a trusted source, only to find an advertisement from a company hawking en electronic giving technology for churches.  The tagline is, 

"Finally. A simple, easy and affordable giving solution for your church."

Which got me thinking.  

“Finally”??? 

Have Presbyterians all over the country been flooding the GA with overtures demanding relief from the arduous task of putting cash or a check in an offering plate?? 

Have parishioners been petitioning church treasurers to please spend more of the church’s money to obtain the offerings that the congregation has hitherto been giving the church for free?

Has the Goliath of Silicon Valley failed time and again over the last twenty years to satisfy the raging consumer demand for a “simple, easy and affordable giving solution” with regards to church gifts, tithes and offerings, only now to be beaten by the David of this vendor?

Who in heaven’s name decided that the church has a “giving problem” that requires the marketplace to deliver a “giving solution”?  Furthermore, who concluded that such a solution was to be found not in any teaching, discussion or study about the theology of giving (and more importantly, the theology of God’s generosity and faithfulness), but rather in computer-based technology that dangles promises of greater revenue in exchange for an open-ended commitment of parishioner’s offerings to using this technology?

Any practice that persuades and invites Christians to remove the spiritual discipline of tithing from the act of worship in community, and relocate it somewhere else in the building, away from worship – however financially profitable it may be in the short term – will surely corrode and erode the church’s engagement with the profound practices of tithing, offering, worshipping, and faith.  One does not “encourage a culture of generosity” by making the “experience” accessible and simple.  If that were true, every streetcorner panhandler would be a millionaire, since it is clearly simpler and quicker to pull money out of one’s pocket than it is to stand in front of an electronic kiosk (perhaps maybe even in line) and type in one’s identifying information, the amount to be given, the “confirmation” button, etc.  No, one encourages a culture of generosity by bearing sustained and joyful witness to a God Whose generosity and overwhelming love transforms people’s lives.  One encourages a culture of generosity by having members of the community tell stories of how God has upheld them through the direst of financial crises in their lives, and how 10% of what we receive from God is barely a token to return to Him in gratitude for His unfailing love.  People don’t want to give money because "it’s easy."  People want to give money when they learn, through acts of faith, how utterly faithful God is, and are thereby freed from their psychological and spiritual dependence upon Mammon. 

How can a Christian possibly characterize pressing buttons on an electronic screen as “user-friendly,” implicitly in contrast to physically surrendering actual money to God in the midst of worship as an act of trust and generosity?  Maybe next we should encourage members to stay home Sunday morning and watch the video stream of the service, since that’s clearly much “simpler” and more “user-friendly” than having to get dressed, load the kids into the car, find a parking spot, and get everyone where they’re supposed to be – only to turn around a little more than an hour later and “reverse” the whole sequence (but now with kids that are whiny and/or pumped up on cookies and kool-aid).

I realize that churches are going to do what churches are going to do, and I have no power to stop them.  I also realize that publications need money, and advertisements can be a helpful and lucrative source.  But that fact in itself does not thereby bless a practice of inviting a wolf into the sheepfold, even when the wolf is spouting promises of fatter sheep.  Every church that purchases a system like this chooses to assume a fixed expense (of monthly subscription and transaction fees to this vendor) in the sole hope  - but without any guarantee whatsoever - of increasing revenue.  Put another way, such a church chooses to surrender real, actual money ONLY because it hopes that, by doing so, it will receive even more money in return - even though it has absolutely no control or influence over the results.  

Which, when I stop to think about it, is a pretty accurate definition of “gambling.” 

Praying the Psalms

I recently began an online course through the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.  The course is called Prayer for Pastors and is taught by Dr. Gary Hansen.  It is a five-week course based on his excellent book, Kneeling With Giants: Learning to Pray with History's Best Teachers (IVP).  One of Dr. Hansen's many strengths is that he is a truly excellent teacher, and so very able to interpret and convey to contemporary listeners the thoughts and lessons provided by saints and teachers from many centuries past.  His book also comes with a workbook, for use in group settings.  This week we are praying the psalms, using John Calvin as a teacher.  At the risk of appearing immodest, I wanted to share the reflections that I wrote down today as part of our assignment.  I share them not because I think they are particularly insightful or illuminating in themselves, but rather because they testify, however awkwardly,
to the faithfulness of God in guiding, by His Holy Spirit, those who seek Him, and who seek the life for which He has made us.  If you read my reflections below, I pray that they may move you, by God's grace, to an increasingly deeper exploration of, and intimacy with, God's living Word to us.

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Psalm 62 - "For God alone my souls waits in silence..."

V. 1 - "For God alone."  This is the focus of the entire psalm.  God's singular, unique authority and power.  The strength, the point, the edge of this repeated affirmation is its explicit exclusiveness.  "For God alone" clearly means that my soul waits for no other, that my soul has no expectations of any other god, or resource, or circumstance, or event, or person.  This is affirmed in the second half of the verse, "from Him comes my salvation."  The psalmist acknowledges the grace and the deliverance of Salvation, and proclaims God -- and only God -- as the Author of that salvation.

V. 2 - "He only is my rock and my salvation."  Again, we have no strength or deliverance apart from God.  The clear implication here is that, when we find ourselves weak, when we are beset by difficulty and trial, when circumstance deals us a heavy blow, when our lives are buffeted by the winds of betrayal, or insult, or hurt, or reproach, or abandonment, or illness, or grief -- in those moments, God IS our rock (i.e., we can confidently trust in Him and depend on Him), and God ALONE is our rock (i.e., there is no other to whom we can go, who can provide for us the strength and stability and security and deliverance that our souls so desperately hunger for).

In these two verses, God is named "Salvation," "Rock," "Salvation" and "Fortress." "Salvation" means that God will deliver me, rescue me, save me from trial and trouble. He will remove me from, take me out from, whatever turmoil and danger I find myself in, and put me in a safe place.  There is movement here -- and human submission to that divine movement.  I must allow myself to be rescued.  I'm reminded of the Red Cross Lifesaving training I took in summer camp as a teenager.  One lesson they taught was how to save someone who is so out-of-their-mind desperate as to literally climb atop their would-be rescuer just to get out the water -- thereby submerging and possibly drowning the rescuer.  (The solution is to approach the victim underwater -- unseen -- and come up behind him, where you can get him in a cross-chest carry and keep yourself out of danger).  But God rarely works this way.  He does not force Himself upon us, but invites us to come to Him.  I must be willing to be rescued, and allow God to save me.

Hence, "my soul waits."  This is that surrender, this is that relinquishment of agenda, of control; "my soul waits for the Lord."  "In silence" = despite the apparent absence of immediate action or reply on God's part.  My soul does not trust in God's action, but in God, the person of the Almighty.  It is an attitude of deep humility, and one that is easily dismissed and ridiculed by the world - esp. in the face of apparent divine inaction.  Cf. the passers-by mocking Jesus on the Cross in Matthew 27:43, "He trusts in God -- let God deliver him now."  The heart that loves God and is given to Him will wait on God*, even in the desolation of silence, because it knows that its salvation comes from God alone -- and that, even though God appear to tarry in our eyes, there is simply no profit in seeking elsewhere, for in none other shall our deliverance be found (cf. Acts 4:12).  So we wait.  Patiently.  Expectantly.  Confidently.

O God, You are my God.
I am not worthy to be called Your servant.
Yet You have chosen, in unimaginable grace, to be my God.
Have mercy upon me, I pray.
Rein in the wayward desires of my heart.
Subdue in me the childish spirit of impatience.
Silence the voice of shame that turns me away from Your face.
Open to me Your arms of grace,
that therein I may find my only true life.
May I daily surrender to you every thought and inclination;
submit to Your gracious and loving hand of deliverance;
allow You to establish my feet upon the Rock of Your sovereign and unassailable grace;
and dwell in You, our fortress, our protection,
to love and serve You all my days;
through Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


* Would that we might be as faithful and steadfast in this as many dogs have shown themselves to be, waiting patiently on their master's return after days, or weeks, or months -- in some cases, even years.

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As I wrote in my introduction (and as I typed them in above), these reflections are unedited, jumbled, and not particularly illuminating in themselves.  I share them only in the joy that I have known in experiencing the Spirit's gracious guidance when I have willingly and patiently surrendered myself to God's Word, and in the hope that you may be persuaded to pursue the same joy.  Thanks for reading.