A week ago I sat over lunch with a kind and soft spoken man who is 88 years old. He walks with a limp, is hard of hearing, and drives slowly enough to make an observer wince somewhat frequently. He would be easy to dismiss, overlook, or underestimate as one whose time had passed. That would be a mistake.

We met as he became a primary care giver for his sister, a woman who had made a generous bequest, a gift in her will, to CBF Foundation for the benefit of CBF Global Missions field personnel salaries. After having been her caregiver in life, he was entrusted with the care of her estate as executor for her and her late husband. I admired his persistent frugality as he took up the mantle of their generosity like Elisha after Elijah. He made sure that every penny in the residual of their estates was accounted for and found its way to the Foundation to accomplish the good works to which it had been dedicated earlier by others.

Generosity had already become a natural inclination for him. He shared a story from his childhood as we ate. There were blackberries on his family’s farm and, growing up in the depression, it was frequently one of his jobs to pick them as a supplement to the family’s diet. One day a neighboring family was picking around the corners of the blackberry patch. A father and mother with a couple of children were gathering some berries for what would have probably been nearly their entire meal. This was a poor family with no land of their own who worked as sharecroppers farming other people’s land for a fraction of the proceeds. In times when crops were bad or there were no proceeds, they had nothing. My friend described the ferocity with which he began to protect his family’s land and food as he ran these interloping scavengers off and told them not to come back. He shared how he went home proud that he had acted as a protector of his family and its resources. He did not get the praise he expected from his father. I could still see a shadow of the pain of embarrassment on his face and in his eyes as he recalled his father’s disappointment and harsh correction to his lack of neighborly generosity. The power of that day’s lessons was still evident in him nearly 80 years later.

After we talked of the past, we turned to the future. This was not, after all, a man whose time had passed. My friend is not a Baptist and knows very little of CBF life except what he has learned since becoming involved in his sister’s devotion to CBF. He began to tell me about some of the things that excite him in his own church. Those of us trained on an age graded system of how to organize church life are sometimes tempted to equate ideas about emergent church traditions or progressive social ministry with younger generations. That would be another mistake. My friend looked at me and said, “You know, sometimes I think we lose focus on what’s important in church. We get focused on ourselves and forget about how to reach out and love people who aren’t like us.” He went on, “I don’t know if you’ve heard ‘a these fellas we had at our church not long ago, a Brian McLaren, and a Tony Campolo? They helped remind me of that.”

I suppressed a laugh and said, “Um yes, I’ve heard of them – what did you think?”

“Well” he said, “I sat there for three solid days and took notes on everything both of ‘em said. You know, they don’t agree with each other on everything, and I didn’t agree with them on every single thing, but they helped me a lot to figure out some things I’ve been working on lately. I’ve got some ideas about ministries we should be doing – you know we’ve got to move past just reaching out to people who are like us, we’ve got to get better at loving different people.”

I drove home from lunch praying that God would make me even more generous when I’m tempted to protect what I’ve got, and that God would give me the wisdom to be as flexible and open minded as an 88 year old man who’s learned that being progressive is less about being young and edgy than it is about being faithful, engaged, and attentive to the God who calls us out of ourselves and into an ever changing world of people who are already loved by God.

May God bless us all with lessons of generosity and the wisdom to love.

Bread for the World released its annual hunger report yesterday at a news conference in Washington, D.C. Here are the vital details from their press officer, Shawnda Hines:

God of all bounty and goodness, we your people give you thanks for the many blessings you have bestowed upon us.

For the breath you put in our lungs this morning, for this day and all other days, and the life we live in them. For this night and all other nights, and the rest that nourishes our bodies and souls.

We thank you for the world and all that is in it, for every living thing, every plant, every creature, great or small. For the rocks of the mountains, and the sand of the beaches, and the waters that run through all of it. For the blessings of creation we give you thanks.

God of life, we thank you for our minds, for our ability to think, to observe, and to study. May we use them for the betterment of all, and to spread the love we find in you. We thank you for our bodies, for our ability to move, to walk, to run, and to dance. May we use them in a way that brings you joy, and honor them as the precious gifts they are.

God of love, we thank you for each other, for this community and all the communities of which we are a part. For our families, our friends, and all with whom we live and work. May we see in them a glimpse of your face, and treat them as members of the family we have in you. For the blessings of humanity and the joy we find in fellowship with others, we give you thanks.

God of every good gift, for these things and for all things, may we be forever grateful. In Jesus’ name we pray,

Amen.

Two weeks ago, on Wednesday evening, I accepted the invitation to participate in Wieuca Road Baptist Church’s Experience Africa. When I arrived with my two children in tow, I was directed to one of three Sunday School classrooms that had been converted into “dining rooms.” Each room was hosted by someone who had either lived in or had much experience with Liberia, Kenya, or Ethiopia. Our meal was catered by a local West African restaurant and was standard fare for a middle-class family living in one of these countries: rice, chicken, “greens,” and cornbread (ok – maybe not so African!). In the “Liberia” room, we also had a taste of ginger beer and a crispy casava bread.

After dinner, we traveled in groups to the fellowship hall, which had been converted into an African village. It was loud and bustling! Eight different huts or stations were set up around the room and told a story of how through education and the work of CBF field personnel, people are being lifted out of poverty. One hut was a small grocery business that a woman was able to establish after receiving a microloan. Another hut showed her home “before” and then “after” she had earned some money. There was also the “school” hut that demonstrated how children were first taught by drawing in the sand before their community had a building for a school. Other huts included the local worship center with rhythmic music; the clinic; a refugee station staffed with CBF field personnel; and an area led by children teaching the game of mancala and the construction of homeade cars made from scrap materials. As adults traveled the stations, they were listening for answers to a crossword puzzle game. Finally, after the “tour” was complete, guests were invited to shop in the mini marketplace to purchase African items as well as Christmas cards made by Wieuca Road children.

I was so impressed with the amount of time and energy that went into this event and could feel the excitement of all who participated! The idea for Experience Africa emerged as the children were studying Spark, CBF’s missional formation resource, and it built on the church’s partnership with CBF in support of field personnel, Jessy Togba-doya. The response was incredible for Wieuca Road, with almost triple the number of people attending than on a typical Wednesday evening.  

For more information on this event and to share your great ideas….join me in a conversation at http://fellowshipportal.ning.com/group/missionsteachers!

Life together in ministry must always await the coming grace. Each day in ministry closes with more still to be done. This challenge creates enormous highs and debilitating lows.

Remember in Walter Wangerin’s Book of the Dun Cow, when Chauntecleer the Rooster was to be found not in the highs of leadership but in the lows of it all for a multitude of reasons. He was in a filthy mood, and the narrator observes, “It is a lesson, how one may pass quickly from the immortal feeling of triumph to the mortal mood of grumpiness.”

Ministers live between these extremes, but ministry does not need to be confined to or stymied by how this minister or that minister happens to feel on any given day. Well-being in ministry seeks openings and occasions for new vision.

Seems to me that this prompts two good conversations for us to explore.  Name a minister who embodies those characteristics that might serve to provide vision for ministry that can endure and flourish over the long haul. Name a community of faith that lives well through the highs and lows, the rise and fall of ministry. After all, we cannot become what we do not have a model for becoming.

Steve

A recent publication by the CBF Initiative for Ministerial Excellence, Well-Being and Excellence in Ministry—A Practical Resource for Ministers and Caring Congregations encourages ministers and congregational leaders to consider what good conversations they might share as they create their life together.  Download the resource and get more information at http://thefellowship.info/ime

Do you remember the now infamous article asking the question Is God Dead? It appeared in Time magazine on April 8, 1966 and was authored by John T. Ellis. Mr. Ellis recently died and the news of his passing has renewed interest in the article. In 1966 America was a much different country than it is today. This article provided almost as much fodder for pulpits as John Lennon’s observation that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, which also occurred in 1966. I believe that Mr. Ellis was attempting to initiate a public discussion on a subject many intellectuals of his day were actively questioning, but one the church was not yet open to pursuing. John Lennon made an off-hand comment that said more about 1960’s culture than about the Beatles. If you have any memory of Beatle-Mania you would likely agree that the boys from Liverpool were in many ways much more popular than Jesus. When was the last time you saw thousands of people fainting from anticipation during a hymn in church or chasing the bus carrying a preacher? In the 1960’s people would do almost anything for a ticket to see the Beatles in concert. Lennon was indicting Christians, not disrespecting Jesus. And once again, the church was masterful in missing the point.

1966 was a genuine turning point for God, Jesus and the church. Questions centered on God’s reality could no longer be dismissed with instant damnation or accusations of treason against all things holy, apple pie and the church. Intellectualism entered the fray like an unwanted guest bent on moving in to stay. Intellectualism planted roots and the church has been slow to adjust. This is not to say that spurts of intellectualism had not been in evidence throughout history, or that all churches were adverse to intellectual discourse in the sixties. The minority of churches dealt with the Ellis article in positive ways and people expanded their theology of God as a result. The majority of churches did not react positively and as a result copies of Time magazine, and five months later Beatles albums, were burned in God’s name. This’ll show ‘em bonfires raged across America and the loser in all of this hubris…was God. Nothing in scripture instructs people to disable their brains in order to become a follower of Jesus. In fact, both Jesus and Paul used intellectual approaches to teach and preach in order to impact the highly intellectual Greeks and Romans and the Hebrew leadership. Even in matters of faith a little bit of thinking goes a long way.

So thank you Mr. Ellis for advancing the discussion on God’s reality. Someone had to do it and you took great abuse for being that person. And my opinion on what God would say about all of this: Thank you for asking about me Mr. Ellis. For the record I am alive and well. Tell your readers I love them and have a plan for their lives. And never forget that I gave you that magnificent brain for many reasons, and contemplating Me is one of the best. And please ask those bonfire people to stop. One of these days you folks are going to ruin the Ozone layer I put in place for your protection. Stay in touch.

MM (a Beatles fan since 1964)

Our friends at the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty asked me to help spread the word about their annual essay contest. Check out last year’s winning entry by Amy Blankenship.

Scholarship contest asks students to revisit JFK speech on separation of church and state 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                          

Contact: Cherilyn Crowe, 202-544-4226, ccrowe@bjconline.org,  Jeff Huett, 202-54404226,  jhuett@bjconline.org

WASHINGTON—The Religious Liberty Council of the Baptist Joint Committee announces the 5th annual Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest, which is open to all high school students in the graduating classes of 2010 and 2011. This year’s contest will commemorate the 50^th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s landmark speech about the relationship between his religion and his politics and the separation of church and state.

The scholarship contest offers a grand prize of $1,000 and airfare and lodging for two to Washington, D.C. Second prize is $500, and third prize is $100.

 Students enter the scholarship contest by writing an essay addressing the following topic:

The year 2010 marks the 50^th anniversary of presidential nominee John F. Kennedy’s landmark speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association about the relationship between his religion and his politics. On September 12, 1960, the Roman Catholic politician spoke to the group of Protestant ministers about his religion and the way it would – and would not – affect his decisions as president. In an essay, discuss whether you think Kennedy was correct in advocating an absolute separation of church and state. Also, discuss the implications of his speech and how the principles he laid out are – or are not – followed by politicians and other leaders 50 years later.

 More on the topic and links to the complete text and video of the speech are available online at www.BJConline.org/contest. The Web site also has all of the requirements and necessary forms available for download. All entries must be postmarked by March 1, 2010.

Winners will be announced in the summer of 2010, and the grand prize winner’s essay will be featured in the BJC’s flagship publication, Report from the Capital.  The winner will also be recognized at the BJC board meeting in Washington, D.C., in October 2010.

Essays will be judged on the depth of their content, the mastery of the topic, and the skill with which they are written. Students should develop a point of view on the issue and demonstrate critical thinking, using appropriate examples, reasons and other evidence to support their position.

Visit http://www.BJConline.org/contest for more information on the topic and contest rules. If you have questions, contact Cherilyn Crowe at 202-544-4226 or by e-mail at ccrowe@BJConline.org.

First delivered on Saturday, October 3rd, at Morning Prayers, The Memorial Church of Harvard University.

But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then, let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8

Living in the country, far removed from the noise and the light of the city, you gain a greater appreciation for the night, for darkness, and the quiet that often comes with it.

I can remember driving along the two-lane highway that led to my house, fields of cotton on either side going out as far as you could see. On cloudy nights, there was pitch-blackness all around; I know it sounds cliché, but it was the kind of darkness that wouldn’t allow you to see your hand in front of your face. But on clear nights, there were thousands, maybe millions of stars. More stars than I ever knew was possible to see from earth. My wife doesn’t like me saying this, but every once in a while, if there was no one else on the road, as was often the case, I would turn off my headlights, and drive with ease, guided only by the light of the moon. The moon and stars were so bright that I could see my shadow as I walked my dog through the cotton fields across the road from my house.

I worked for Habitat for Humanity in the Mississippi Delta for two years before entering Divinity School. I lived in an extremely small town, so small, in fact, that it isn’t really considered a town, per se. This is often true of places where stray dogs outnumber people. But there was a real town not too far down the road and along its main drag there was a Michelin Tire store. The sign outside this store did not change the entire two years I was down there, and it read in bold lettering: “Character is who you are in the dark.” Meaning, presumably, that it is not what we do in public, or “when the lights are on,” that defines us, but rather what we do when we are by ourselves, when no one else can see. Now, there is nothing especially earth shattering about this message, many of us have probably heard it somewhere before, but after a while I found it to be a bit jarring—besides the oddity of it being on the sign for a tire store.

This passage from the last chapter of Paul’s letter is his final words of support and hope to the church. He reminds them to whom they belong. They are God’s children, “children of light and children of the day.” They belong to the light of the age to come, not the darkness of this present age. For Paul the cycle of night and day, light and darkness provides a potent metaphor for who the church is to be in the world.

About a year, ago near the beginning of winter, National Geographic magazine featured an article about light pollution with the provocative title “The End of Night: Why We Need the Darkness.” The article explains that as humans we are, at least biologically, meant to be creatures of the day. Our eyes are meant to function in light, thus our difficulty seeing and orienting ourselves in darkness. Modern technology has tried to correct this by harnessing electricity to provide light at any time of day. As necessary as this is for civilization as we know it, the article goes on to say that the development of this technology comes with consequences. It explains that darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself. And yet the article ends on a somewhat philosophical note: “In a very real sense, light pollution causes us to lose sight of our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best measured against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way arching overhead.”

Upon reading this article I could not help but think back to my time in Mississippi and the breathtaking dark nights. You see it was during these nights, as I looked up at the darkness above that seemed to go on forever that I was most aware of my true place in the universe, and the true scale of my being. This is God’s creation, and I am only one small part of it. Sitting out in the cotton fields on those clear, dark nights, it was the darkness that enabled me to see the light of the stars and the moon more clearly. The darkness illuminated the light, and the light the darkness.

If biologically we need darkness to help regulate our internal clocks, and philosophically we need darkness to help us understand our place in the world, perhaps theologically we can understand light and darkness to be a part of the ordering of creation. God separated the light from the darkness creating day and night. Light and darkness are a part of creation, which God tells us is fundamentally good. We might say that they are also a part of us, which Scripture tells us is fundamentally very good.

“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”

Paul reminds the church of its true identity, of who they are in the dark. And so to amend this message from the good people of Michelin, if not somewhat awkwardly, perhaps “Christianity is who we are in the dark.” Not the darkness found in solitude, but the darkness of the very world that surrounds us, the necessary darkness. It is the both the moonlight that allows us to drive down empty highways, and the light of stars piercing the blackness of a night that covers our imagination. It is who are, and what we must do as we prepare for the morning that is on our horizon. Amen.

-a review of an NC Council of Churches resource

An incredibly divisive issue over the last decade in America, the vitriol created by the immigration issue is rivaled only by that of the anger surrounding the health care reform debate.  Perhaps putting a human face and hearing real stories about this issue might be the best place to start.  On pages 36 and 37 of this resource, chronicler Daniel Grood recounts his stories working in Mexico providing pastoral care near the U.S. border.  He states that many undocumented immigrants come from a part of Mexico where there are no jobs, and putting food on their children’s tables has become exceedingly difficult.  One man, Mario, revealed that he is not crossing the border because he wants to break the law or even come to America.  The economic conditions where he lives are so bad that he knows his family will die if he stays.  At least if he crosses, obtains work, and can send back money, his family might live a little longer.  However, his group is captured and chained, all while an over-head U.S. border patrol helicopter plays “La Cucaracha” while they run (37).  Humiliated and lacking hope, they are transported back to Mexico.  How did conditions get so bad?

The book explores the nonsensical evolution and increasing restrictions of immigration laws that clearly reflect the xenophobic culture of the times.  For instance, did you know that at one point immigrant “epileptics” and “persons with physical and mental defects” were excluded from naturalization? And almost all Asians were barred from entry at another point in US history (54-55).   Even more frustrating is the now-exorbitant waiting period for immigrants to become U.S. citizens: it’s up to 20 years in some cases (13).   The explanations of significant, lengthy and painstaking hurdles through which immigrants must jump are not only head-scratching, but make it clear that our laws are actually preventing legal immigration that would help us track who is in our country.  It was also helpful to learn that NAFTA destroyed Mexico’s economy along with ours, as American businesses moved from Mexico to find even cheaper labor abroad. This exodus of Mexican job mirrored ones from US manufacturing towns, and left thousands in northern Mexico without jobs (24).

Perhaps the most compelling argument for immigration reform for Christian readers comes in Chapter 7, with the statement, “The Gospel of Matthew says God in Jesus not only takes on human flesh and migrates into our world but actually becomes a refugee himself when he and his family flee political persecution and escape into Egypt [Matt 2:13-150] (39).  Jesus, Mary and Joseph were undocumented immigrants in the great nation of Egypt.  Perhaps this experience motivates Jesus to say in Matthew 25, “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…just as you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to me” [NRSV]. 

If Christians are to example the Good Samaritan, as Jesus demands, what are we to do next?  The reflection questions throughout the book help the reader to focus their thinking. The book says that end goal should be for persons of faith to show their hospitality by demanding immigration reform that requires employers to treat workers fairly (34).  Low wages and poor working conditions comprise the reality of economic slavery under which many undocumented immigrants are trapped.  A majority of workers are paying into Medicare, Social Security and Federal Taxes to the tune of $50 billion in federal taxes from 1996 to 2003 (17).  Despite the perception that undocumented immigrants are a drain on our system, statistics like these would show another side of the story.  These workers are actually paying into a system they will never get to benefit from, and they risk deportation at any moment. 

No one wants scores of unaccounted people in America.  We must call for reform that allows hard working immigrants access to a path toward legal citizenship, and allows the US to have a more efficient, practical system.  We are all children of God who must help our neighbors.  If you are interested in this resource, go to the North Carolina Council of Churches website, www.nccouncilofchurches.org for more information.

This article also appears at The Winding Labyrinth, a new blog launch in cooperation with CBF of North Carolina discussing the intersection of faith, politics, and human issues on the path toward God.

Constance McNeill

The title of Adam S. McHugh’s article in Christian Century (November 17, 2009), “Can introverts lead?” interested me for two reasons. I am a leader and I am an introvert. I want to share some of the article with you. He cites from several sources on leadership, all sources that have shaped and formed my own practice of leadership. In Richard Daft’s, The Leadership Experience, five attributes in successful leaders are identified. They are called the “Big Five personality dimensions.” They are: openness to experience, emotional stability, conscientiousness, agreeableness and extroversion.

If you are acquainted with Myers-Briggs, you know that each of us is both introverted and extroverted though we have a preference for one over the other. I would agree that introverts must use their non-preference extroversion in order to lead. Leading others is an external process. It requires communication and action—interaction with the external world. However, I also believe that leading should always begin as an internal process. The best leaders think before they speak and reflect before they act.

Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization, contends that successful leadership is inseparable from introspection. This skill is a skill set derived from the social focus of introversion, but it is not limited to introverts. Extroverted leaders who learn to exercise their introversion can develop the same skills. Several years ago, Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t was a very valuable read for me. He introduced me to Level 5 leaders. Level 5 leaders display compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated. They display a workmanlike diligence—more plow horse than show horse according to Collins.

Maybe most importantly, Level 5 leaders set up their successors for even greater success in the next generation. That can be the next generation of leadership, not necessarily the next birth generation though that may be applicable. For me, this is probably the most important thing we can do as leaders–to lead in such a way, that those who follow will be even more effective leaders than we have been. That what I hope to do.

The primary point of Adam S. McHugh’s article, “Can introverts lead?” is to illustrate how the contemporary discussions about leadership have changed as to what is valued in leadership now as compared to the past. In the past, the charismatic leader, the dominating strength of a leader, the outgoing gregariousness of a leader or the superstar can-do-anything leader was regarded as the model to emulate. The personality of the leader was considered key to effective leadership.

Now, contemporary conversation about leadership focuses on something else. As McHugh writes, “The long-term sustainability of an organization or a church cannot depend on the personality of the central leader, no matter how captivating or compelling that person is.” He refers to Peter Drucker who contends that charisma is actually the undoing of leaders. He believes it makes leaders inflexible because they become convinced they are infallible and therefore have no reason to change.

Contemporary conversation about leadership elevates the character of a leader over the charisma of the leader. McHugh says that the leader’s character is more than personal integrity and ethical decision-making though they are components. The core of character is the leader’s authenticity. To be authentic, the leader understands her/his identity from within and are in harmony with whom God has created her/him to be. McHugh goes on to say that the greatest gift the leader can give to others is to model authenticity because it will give others freedom to be who God has created them to be. What a great gift!

We study leadership, we talk about it, we blog about it. We want to be good leaders. We try—maybe especially we introverts.

You can find the article at christiancentury.org.