Humility, Pride, and Leadership

We are not a society that lifts up humility very often.  As a matter of fact, we like to talk about what we are proud about rather than those who are humble.  Nevertheless, there is a time when humility is embraced with wild abandon in our culture – that is when we are called to lead.  Lead?  Who me?  Oh, I wouldn’t be good at that.  Really?

God gives us all kinds of experience in life.  Sometimes it is for our own growth.  I can think of many times that I thought something was “rock solid true” and God showed me that it isn’t always so.  When we get up on our high horse, sometimes God likes to nudge us and show us that what we think of as high isn’t so high after all.  And, I believe when we listen, we are better people for it (as long as we don’t get proud that we learned so much!).

Sometimes though God gives us experience for the benefit of others.  God shows us how to do something, how to solve something, and even what we shouldn’t do.  It may not apply in our personal lives.  But the experiences certainly can be a blessing to others.  And they will unless when we are asked to lead we take the, “Aw shucks, me? I can’t really do that” approach.

Sometimes we are called to follow.  Sometimes we are called to lead.  May we have the courage and the wisdom to be able to do both.

Until next time,

Tom

Evaluation

I find myself these days back in a place far removed in own life – elementary school.  And I am attending parent-teacher conferences to hear how my children are doing.  I also find myself doing the inevitable comparison, “How is he/she doing compared with his/her classmates?”

We want to “rack and stack” everything in our lives.  What’s the best sports team?  What’s the best restaurant?  What’s the best automobile?  On Facebook, you can even vote for the best country (I wonder how many people vote for a country other than their own first – but I digress).  But should we really do this with people?

The natural response to this is to revolt in the end, especially when it comes to people.  We think about our own flaws and failures (and the times perhaps others have been “ranked” over us) and we wonder what the value is after all.  We want to say, “Everyone is good and everyone has value.”  God so love the world that he gave his Son for all of us, right?

But then, is it ok when people are lazy?  Is it ok if a child doesn’t try?  Is it ok when people produce substandard work (even if they are capable of more)?  It is ok when people break the rules and do evil?  These questions will make us want to swing back and think evaluating people isn’t so bad after all.  We kind of have to do it.

But I wonder if there isn’t some form of evaluation that is being left out.  How often do we grade people on their ability to work well with others?  How often do we recognize children for being willing to sacrifice for others?  How often do we grade members of a class for working for the greater good of the class rather than just for themselves?  And how often do we recognize individuals for unique input that is a blessing to the group as a whole?  I believe not often enough.

Like them or not, we do need evaluations.  But maybe we can stretch the envelope as time goes on regarding what we are evaluating.  Maybe some of the things we currently evaluate aren’t so all important as we have thought.  Maybe also there are things we could be evaluating that would tell us more about people.

Maybe God calls on us in each generation to wonder how we might do things better tomorrow than we are doing today.

Just some food for thought on a Monday.

All the best,

Tom

Friends

This morning on Facebook, a high school friend posted our senior pictures.  It brought back good memories and an eye roll when I saw myself.  I can’t believe either that I ever had that much hair or that I wanted to have that much hair!

As I went through the pictures it struck me that for almost half of the class, I haven’t seen them since graduation and have no idea where they are now.  It surely wasn’t our intent walking off of that graduation platform to lose track of one another but such is life.  Our paths were all on different courses at that point.

Now a totally different story but one that parallels.  Last night, we hosted a mission group from Gwynedd Square Presbyterian in our home.  Gwynedd Square was the church my wife was serving in Lansdale, PA when we began dating.  They were so nice and supportive back then and many traveled cross-country to come to our wedding.  It was so good seeing some of them again.  And we especially appreciate that they again traveled cross country, this time to help rebuild New Orleans.

We never know when we make friends how long we will see them and be with them.  When we part, we don’t know if we’ll get to see them again.

Let’s make the time with our friends count.  And let’s make the effort, when we can, to reconnect as time goes by.

All the best,

Tom

The Parish Line

I grew up going to “West End” in New Orleans, which had both the Marina and a series of great restaurants (Fitzgerald’s and the Bounty are two that really stand out in my memory).  Today, one of our church elders was touring a visiting mission group, and I tagged along.  We returned to a spot I had been so many times in my youth.  The parking lot is there, but all the restaurants were washed away by the hurricanes.

In the middle of the parking lot, the parish line is marked.  The importance of this in years gone by was to note whether the taxes collected in the restaurant went to Orleans or Jefferson parish.  Today though, it is a curious relic of what was.  I doubt it’s much of an issue today which parish you are in while you stand in the empty parking lot.

I wonder how many “lines” exist like that in our minds. Lines that had a point (or seemed to have a point) but no longer do. How often do we do things out of habit when the information we have since learned makes all that irrelevant?

This past week a justice of the peace in Louisiana refused to issue a license to an interracial couple. His argument goes that such marriages do not last long and for the sake of future kids, he didn’t want to issue that license.  I remember hearing that logic growing up, and it made sense to me then.

But today, as I have traveled across the nation, I have found that ethnic lines are cross all the time (and really they always have been). I wonder if he considered the irony that when he was saying those words a man who is biracial was visiting New Orleans.  And he has achieved a measure of success.  He is our president.  Regardless of whether we agree with his politics or not, I don’t think we can say being the product of an interracial marriage hindered him. (It may even have helped him.)

I also have learned of my own hodge-podge background as my wife has helped trace my family tree.  I have a French, English, German heritage with a smattering of Scottish and Irish mixed in.  This isn’t unusual at all in our society.  Really it’s the norm.  As Bill Murray famously said in the comedy Stripes, “Americans, we’re all mutts!”

Beyond the story itself, I think we are all called to examine what beliefs we have within us that may no longer be very relevant or useful to us.

All the best and until next time,

Tom

New Eyes

This has been a long, but good, three weeks.  I worked for a week, went off for an ANG drill weekend, worked for another week, then we hosted a regional church body, and then I worked for another week until today.  It so happens that my son also got today off as it is a public school holiday.  I was ready for a break.

So, I can’t say I was exactly excited when my wife said, “Our son has been waiting to go to the Insectarium.”  The what?  Apparently, downtown, there is now a museum for insects.  I have never been much of a museum person to start off with and insects aren’t exactly a compelling issue for me either.  But sometimes, as they say, “mother knows best.”

After dragging my feet a bit (I mowed the lawn and did some other chores around the house while our son played on my computer) we headed off.  It took a bit to find it but we did and we had a ball.  The museum is designed with kids in mind and has all kind of information that is interesting for adults (I had no idea how central insects are in the cycle of life) and all kind of “neat” and “gross” and “cool” things for a little guy.

But the most fun was watching my son interact with not only the displays but the other visitors there.  We went through the museum twice and the second time he acted as a default tour guide much to the delight of both parents and kids.  I think the staff was ready to put him on the payroll.

I could have been given free tickets to the museum of my choice and wouldn’t have had as much fun as I had with him today.  Sometimes there is more waiting for us than we expect when we head off on a venture.

The perpetual challenge of adults is not to lose the wonder of God’s creation (and what many of God’s children have dreamed up).

I hope my and other children can always keep me on track as I get older.

All the best,

Tom

New Church Image?

Fighting has existed in the church since its earliest days.  We can even detect a conflict at one point between Peter and Paul, two of the most important first century Christians in the Bible.  Sometimes principle trumps peace and unity.

Internal fighting is nothing new to Presbyterians in the U.S.  You can see by the number of Presbyterian denominations within the U.S. alone evidence, like a black eye on both sides, of fighting that resulted in a divorce of sorts.  And voices on the right and left warn of further splintering if “the other side” doesn’t begin going along with their side.

Do we really feel that this is what Jesus would be doing if he were here?  Do we really think we need more Presbyterian denominations or that moving between Presbyterian denominations is going to advance the cause of Christ?  Are our worst enemies (the ones that we really need to focus our time, energy, money, and thoughts against) really other Presbyterians?  Is our only answer to divorce ourselves from those with whom we disagree?

We love to be gracious and pastoral to everyone, but sometimes when folks are bent and determined to break others apart, being nice isn’t necessarily the best option.  Christ wasn’t always nice to those on the wrong path.

What image does the PC(USA) need today?  If we care for our denomination and our future, we are going to need to be more than nice.  We are going to need to fight to reconcile it.  And fight for it in a way to “win back over the other side” rather than to “defeat” or “separate ourselves” from them.

Although I don’t like cigarettes, this expresses the sentiment perfectly.

Let’s fight instead of switching.  The answer isn’t elsewhere.  God brought us all together for a reason.

All the best and until next time,

Tom

Where is the Kingdom?

The Bible has much to say about the kingdom of God.  But where exactly is it?  Pope Benedict, in the third chapter of his book relates how this has been debated through the ages.  Protestant theologians have said that the kingdom radically comes to the individual.  Catholic theologians have said the kingdom is seen today in the Church.  Secular society tries to build a universal kingdom but without God.  People can have their “beliefs” but ultimately they do not matter because people are all there is in the end (so the logic goes).

Benedict says that the kingdom is within Jesus alone and it is through him alone that we get a glimpse of the coming kingdom.

I agree but where I would press us all is to define who Jesus is.  For some, Jesus seems to be the social critic.  For others, a personal comforter.  For others still Jesus is the one who waits for us to arrive so he can bring us to heaven.  I even found an article this week that articulated that Jesus was really a conservative who believed in free market principles (and I have read another years ago who argued Jesus was a Marxist).  In other words, don’t we often simply make Jesus into the the Savior we want him to be?

If Benedict is right and Jesus IS the kingdom – then it is incumbent upon us all not to project a Jesus we want but rather to find the Jesus that is.  This can be scary and challenging because we might have to let come of some long held assumptions and embrace new ones.    We might think we know Jesus well after all these years but maybe just maybe, there is more to learn.  Wherever we worship and whenever we pick up the Bible, let’s try to put our presuppositions aside and hear him anew when we read that red print in our Bibles.

As for Tom the Presbyterian reading Benedict the Pope – I am throughly impressed with his writing.  This gentleman is well read and a great theologian.  And so far (going into chapter 4) I have bumped into nothing that couldn’t be taught from any Protestant pulpit or class.  Perhaps his goal is to speak beyond Roman Catholicism to the larger world.

I’m enjoying it and will keep reporting each week.

All the best,

Tom

Brett Favre and Noon Kickoffs

My favorite Brett Favre moment this year wasn’t on the football field.  It is when he showed up in a television commercial and decides to buy a big flat screen television and then at the last moment says, “Wait, I changed my mind.”  People who can laugh at themselves show strength in our overly serious world.

I have followed professional football since the Saints first started playing in the 60s and I was just a kid.  But even after watching so many games, I am amazed at the intensity people take into watching a game they are not directly playing.  In his particular case, Favre has waffled around as much as any politician I have seen in the past 3 or 4 years about retirement.  But why this generates such passion in the media and among fans leaves me scratching my head.

It might seem unrelated but it reminds me of the times that in church that folks are looking at their watches because they are anxious about getting home for a noon kickoff.  Now if someone is actually going to a game, I understand the anxiety.  There is parking, meals, and other items that must get done.  But if they are watching it on TV at home, which is what most folks are doing, is the kickoff of a game really that important?  If  you are a fan, you will probably see well over a hundred games on TV this year.  In their lives they have seen thousands of football games.  And in how many of them has something vital happened in the first five minutes of the first quarter?

I think it is great to enjoy football.  Despite baseball saying so, I have always experienced football (particularly in the south) to be our ‘national pastime.”  But what might life be like if we took that same passion into helping in the community, our jobs, our families, or dare I say into our churches?

The Saints are 4-0 and so are the LSU Tigers.  Tulane has won two in a row. It’s a great football season down here so far.  And I’m sure more drama will unfold around Favre (who grew up not too far from New Orleans) with the Vikings.

But I  hope we can all pause for a moment and think about what is really important.

All the best,

Tom

Chapter Two: Temptations

I am going to start off with a fascinating quote from Pope Benedict’s book on Jesus:

But let us return to the third temptation.  Its true content becomes apparent when we realize that throughout history it is constantly taking new forms.  The Christian empire attempted at an early stage to use the faith in order to cement political unity.  The Kingdom of Christ was now expected to take the form of a political kingdom and its splendor.  The powerlessness of faith, the earthly powerlessness of Jesus Christ, was to be given the helping hand of political and military might.  This temptation to use power to secure the faith has arisen again and again in varied forms throughout the centuries, and again and again the faith has risked being suffocated in the embrace of power.  The struggle for the freedom of the Church, the struggle to avoid identifying Jesus’ kingdom with any political structure, is one that has to be fought century after century.  For the fusion of faith and political power always comes at a price: faith becomes the servant of power and must bend to its criteria.

I never would have thought the Pope would write those words.  It is a pretty strong critique on the history of the Catholic Church itself.  It also underscores a value held by many in the world today – a separation of Church and state.

This is a particularly interesting topic to me since I overtly combine the two, at least in many eyes, by being a military chaplain.  I serve the state but do so with a cross on my uniform.  Is the faith being subverted to the ends of power?  Many of my classmates in seminary thought so.

But we all are called to merge the two in some manner or form.  We do so every time we pay our taxes.  We do so every time we call the local fire department.  We do so anytime we access public or commercial transportation to go on a mission trip.  Christians cannot live apart from our nation (although some have tried).  We are all citizens.  We are all responsible.  And every Christian is called to serve the Lord.

I don’t disagree with what the Pope wrote (the entire chapter is quite good but too long to critique in the blog).  But what is vital is to know that in our minds there has to be a line that neither side (the church or the state) should pass over.  Power has no room to critique the faith.  What we believe, why we believe it, and what we are called to do is nothing that power can place a value judgment on (except from its own perspective of course).  The validity and efficacy of the Christian faith (or any faith) cannot be measured by political, military, or economic power.  At the same time, if Christians get too wrapped up in seeking political, military, or economic power and influence -we should not be surprised if faith seems fleeting.  This is particularly true of my generation.  I wonder how many Christians have left their church halls quiet in the past year to rally for Obama or against him at a “tea party.”

This is the most difficult of all the temptations we face and can be particularly daunting in times of stress and conflict.  We want things simple.  We want everything we value (church, nation, world, finances, home, etc.) to all run parallel.  But they sometimes don’t and each of them loses its vibrancy if we try to pretend they all support the same goals in the end.  But how we do what is right at church, in our nation, in our world, with our money, and at home is still our calling.

In admitting a problem the church has faced in the past, Benedict sheds light on a problem we have in the present as well.

All the best and until next time,

Tom

There is no defending it

An official from the Vatican came out today and said that the overwhelming majority of sex abuse cases in the Catholic church do not involve pedophiles because almost all the cases deal with adolescents.  The official also said that this same problem exists, perhaps is even worse, in other church and religions (Protestants and Jews are mentioned specifically) I re-read the article three times to make sure I was reading it right.

It is incomprehensible to me that the Vatican would make such a statement.  Are they saying it isn’t as much of a problem because the victims were 12 instead of 8?  Are they saying that since the same crime is going on elsewhere that it gets them any more off the hook?

I know this is a troubling issue.  I also know that the overwhelming majority of Catholic priests are great and dedicated men who would never dream of harming their parishioners.  And I absolutely believe those who are out to attack Christ’s Church use this issue to their own ends.

Nevertheless, every religious organization has to realize that one clergy person engaging in sex with any parishioner who is under eighteen is one too many.  Such people are deeply troubled souls and must be removed from traditional ministry permanently.

Every soul God entrusts to a church is a precious soul and the Church (and Synagogue and Mosque) must keep close eye on every vulnerable person (young, old, disabled, etc.) and make sure they are not being abused – especially by those who are there to be their priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam.

I strongly believe in what I call “two-person integrity” with children.  We should always have two adults with anyone in the church 18 or younger at all times.  The odds of getting two bad apples at once are much much lower.

Whoever this priest is who said these words needs to rethink  his position.  The problem isn’t the outrage.  The problem is the problem.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/28/sex-abuse-religion-vatican

All the best and until next time,

Tom