:: In.a.Mirror.Dimly ::

Glenn Beck and Jon Stewart have something in common. They thrive on their audiences believing in their goodness and sincerity, coat their beliefs in the palatable pill of humor, and command a loyal following.

They also are heavily merchandised, make a boat load of money from their shows, and rake in a bunch more through publishing deals. We can argue whether one is right, more sincere, or whatever. But we cannot deny that they have these things in common. And the moment anyone doubts they aren’t sincerely looking out for their best interests or their jokes fall flat, they lose.

The money stops.

In a perfect world these funny analysts would have our best interests in mind. Perhaps they do. I can’t judge for sure.

However, where there is a lot of money and power at stake for those on the right or left, the public should be suspicious. Before we lap up the comedy-laced analysis, the pouncing on sound bites, and the vilifying of political opponents, it’s worth asking what these entertainers (and we can’t forget they are entertainers first and foremost) have at stake. Will anyone listen to Glen Beck if he looks for the best with Obama? Will Jon Stewart manage to keep the jokes coming if he softens up on Republicans? And of course Beck is finding out right now that fear sells.

I wrestle to find a place in today’s political debate as a Christian. I’m so sick of either party “reaching out” to evangelicals hoping to swing an election by pandering to this issue or that. While I’m not convinced that government shouldn’t always be the first place we turn to help people, I also don’t believe it should be the last.

I’ll admit I love the idea of a society that allocates funds to ensure all people have basic health care. Medicare works well enough for senior citizens, and I’m proud that our nation provides it. I’d like to see that kind of care extended to the rest of those who need it. We sure need it more than we need two wars or bonuses for bank executives.

However, I don’t want to become a political proxy for a political party and alienate myself from others unnecessarily. Perhaps there’s no other way to do it, but I simply don’t know how exactly to engage this issue without becoming someone’s pawn. I have no interest in waving Beck’s or Stewart’s banners. I’m not sure if waving the banner of the Gospel, of loving my neighbor, or of becoming poor for the sake of others as Christ did means I need to toss my hat in the ring one way or the other.

After seeing the Republicans toy with Christians for so long, and after I have personally failed to think through what exactly I was getting myself into, I’m wary of political fights and the war of words streaming from both sides.

What does it look like to follow Jesus today in a politically divided America? Should the disciples of Jesus fight their way through the system or step away from it? If we do jump in, how far do we go? How do we define failure or victory?

As you can tell, I’m short on answers at this point.

I’d rather not rant about this Proposition Eight business. I think it’s more appropriate to mourn this mess spear-headed by Christians and Mormons.

I understand that some Christians see this as a freedom of speech issue, being able to define marriage as they best understand. I also know that many Christians are deeply troubled by defining marriage in terms other than a man and a woman.

However, we need to step back here and look at the larger picture. We need to look at the role of Christians in the grand scheme of things as ambassadors for Christ, ministers of the Gospel, and God’s redemptive people. We don’t have to approve of same sex marriage, but we do have to think of our mission, our reason for being here.

I like the way Paul speaks of his ministry—he describes himself as a good soldier who has to focus on obeying his commanding officer and completing his mission. Anything that gets in the way of that mission must go.

Christians are here on this earth to share the Gospel, to be agents of God’s Kingdom, and to bring redemption to this world. We’re picking up where Jesus left off: preaching the Good News, healing, and discipling. We can certainly involve ourselves in the matters of our state, however, we must carefully weigh whether these matters have an adverse effect on our mission. If they hinder our mission, then our involvement with the state must go.

The fact of the matter is that Christians are generally labeled as anti-homosexual, if not flagrantly homophobic and hateful toward homosexuals. The other fact of the matter is that Jesus has sent us to preach the Gospel to everyone, including this group. Therefore, it is my assertion that this Proposition Eight business has only succeeded in dragging Jesus through the mud and wasting $85 million that we all know could have been put to much, much better use.

Supporters of Proposition Eight spent around $40 million—it’s opponents $45 million. Just think about the impact that money could have had with groups such as World Vision, Prison Fellowship, Not for Sale, or just about any other missions and service group. This money could have saved lives, supported missionaries who preach the Gospel, or at least paid to place the Bible in someone’s hand.

Instead the followers of Jesus are known as intolerant and anti-homosexual. We can talk all day about supporting Prop. Eight while not being anti-gay, but no one will believe us. Our actions are drowning out anything we may say, whether about ourselves or about the Gospel.

Proposition Eight has crowded out the Gospel. Perhaps it’s not evil in and of itself, though some may make that case, but it certainly has taken evangelical Christians, people who are defined by the Gospel and its life-changing power, away from their primary mission to be witnesses who preach the Gospel.

The survival of Proposition Eight to fight another day means that more money and time will be squandered on something that really has nothing to do with preaching the Good News that Jesus offers salvation and redemption through his death and resurrection. The Gospel cannot be found in the fight for this law, no matter what we make of it. And as much as it inhibits our ability to fulfill the mission Jesus gave us, we must avoid such peripheral matters.

Let us resolve to know nothing other than Christ crucified and the power of his Resurrection.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

There is something beautiful and honorable about those who put their own lives in the path of danger for the sake of others. I have a good friend who works the tough hours as a police officer, and I can’t express how grateful I am to have someone with so level a head and desire to serve out on the streets.

I also know several former soldiers, veterans of the Second Iraq War. Some have moved on with their lives without the war impacting them too terribly, while others suffer severe headaches, tumors, and fatigue—the effects of the enriched uranium in our bombs also causing severe cancer and birth defects among the civilians in the war zones of Iraq and beyond.

Wherever these veterans are today, I am grateful that they put their own lives on hold, left family and friends, and traveled to distant lands. I believe they joined the American army with the best of intentions, hoping to hold up the ideals of liberty and justice. We can debate how our soldiers have been used by their superiors, the motives of our government, and the exceptions to these exemplary young people, but on the whole, I only know of honorable, dedicated people in our military.

There are always exceptions—those who join for the power and authority or simple financial reasons—though on the whole our veterans are worthy of being remembered and honored. In addition, many who have fought through the hell of war have come back as the strongest advocates for peace and diplomacy.

While it is good to honor these good people, Christians have a gray area to navigate. It is common for Christians to apply Jesus’ words from John 15:13 to the military context: giving one’s life for another. However, such a use of this passage makes a terrible blunder, mixing up one kind of sacrifice for another. This doesn’t negate the good that our soldiers do. It’s more a matter of apples and oranges.

Jesus laid down his life in a non-violent manner before the Roman and Jewish leaders, dying for the sake of all humanity—even those who murdered him. His death was a rejection of the empire’s path to establishing a Kingdom, choosing instead to inaugurate God’s Kingdom rule by laying down his own life, setting rule through power and domination aside, and demonstrating his love through his own death.

Jesus sacrificed himself for the sake of his enemies and friends. He never threatened anyone with physical harm. He rejected the kingdoms of this world in favor of God’s ground up, mustard-seed-style, yeast-through-dough Kingdom.

Though we hope America’s soldiers are only deployed for the cause of freedom and justice, we must keep in mind that our soldiers are at the disposal of the American government, which is not to be confused with God’s Kingdom. Soldiers are trained to kill their enemies, and as such they sacrifice themselves for their friends only, not for the sake of the enemy.

As General Patton once said, “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”

And so we should certainly honor selflessness and courage. We should remember those who laid their own lives on the line for the sake of their friends.

However, we should not quote Jesus in the context of Memorial Day. Jesus chose a path of non-violence. We can debate whether such a path is feasible for a nation state today, but we should not confuse a non-violent path with a path that clearly puts violence on the table.

In addition, Jesus tells us to love our enemies, and he demonstrated his incredible love by not only dying for his friends, but also his enemies—offering them a chance to be reconciled to God. It should not surprise us that Jesus has set the bar for love incredibly high. We should also not be surprised that the love of Jesus is something quite different from the love of a soldier for friend or country. There are no doubt some similarities and points of contact, but we are dealing with two very different things.

As we honor the dedication of our men and women in uniform, may we spend even more time pondering and honoring the height, length, breadth, and depth of God’s love for everyone.

We pulled into our driveway this past Sunday evening at 10:15 PM, ending our vacation in Germany a bit on the exhausted side. The time felt like 4:15 AM, meaning we’d been awake for nearly 24 hours. It’s been a tad difficult regaining our equilibrium again, but that doesn’t change the fact that we had a fantastic trip.

Propaganda for Deutschland: For starters, every day save one brought blue skies and warm weather into the low 70’s. Flowers were blooming all over the place, while flowering apple and cherry trees added bursts of color around every corner. With only one day of rain, it felt like we were in paradise.

A postcard on every street: We visited the towns of Marburg, Bonn, Luneburg, Momlingen, and Michelstadt. In the cases of the first three, there was a ton of history to be seen. Timberframe houses, churches, and castles all dating back to the 1400’s, if not earlier, dominated the historic town centers that were paved with cobblestone streets and lined with restaurants offering outdoor seating. The massive churches and castles were astounding in their size and beauty. The above picture is a view of Marburg’s town center and castle up on the hill.

Smart Transportation: I had an overwhelming sense that Germans really know what they’re doing when it comes to transportation. Every town we visited had a wide bike lane on every sidewalk, the town centers were serviced by regular buses and kept clear of most auto traffic with large civilian walking areas. The bike lanes continued out into the country, giving pedestrians endless paths to enjoy for recreation or to travel from town to town. And no one can visit Germany without mentioning the stellar train system. The ICE trains we took, which seem to specialize in long-distance, city-to-city travel were comfortable, spacious, and seemed to travel really, really fast. I’m a sucker for long train trips, so I can’t say enough about the German train system.

Unique Cultural Experiences: While visiting I wanted to be sure to have a variety of German meats, drinks, chocolates, and whatever else. Our friends made sure I sampled a variety of sausages and salamis, many of which were the specialties of particular towns, such as Momlingen. Momlingen boasts a wonderful apple juice that tastes, no joke, like you’re actually drinking an apple. It’s the best juice I’ve ever had. It’s also tough to beat the various breads and rolls available at all of the bakeries. They know how to make tasty bread.

Natural Beauty: We saw plenty of rolling fields and flat farmland in Germany. The train ride along the Rhine river from Frankfurt to Bonn was spectacular. A great deal of the river along that stretch is lined with towering mountains and hills, many with castles guarding the passes. The steep hills in this temperate valley are covered with vines and various apple and cherry trees. It would be well worth returning to take a cruise on the Rhine. We also saw quite a lot of the fields up north around Luneburg and then returned to see the country side outside of Frankfurt. I particularly enjoyed the chance to see the flat north give way to the rolling hills and wide valleys of the south during our drive to Momlingen.

Old Stuff: Of course we ran into our fair share of old churches and buildings dating back to the 1400’s for the most part, though we did run into some buildings and castles dating back to the 1000-1100 range. Elizabeth Church in Marburg was one of the most impressive buildings we saw, though a castle near Momlingen may receive the prize for most photographed. Situated on a hill nearby a small town, the castle tower provided sweeping views of the valley, while the various walls seemed all but impregnable. In fact, our friend thinks the castle was only defeated through treachery within its own walls. I was continually amazed at the scale of these buildings at a time when machinery and cranes didn’t exist. It makes me realize that no matter how impressed I am, the people of the 1400’s and 1500’s must have been astounded for sure.

Final Thoughts: I traveled Germany looking for new experiences, determined to hold back my judgment on anything that was different so I could enjoy it as naturally as possible. For instance, our introduction to a German breakfast included “lunch” meats and cheese, as well as bakery rolls you’d typically see on the dinner table. I held back my judgment and ended up really enjoying the meat and cheese breakfast concept. Never a fan of muesli, mixing it with creamy yogurt  has fast become another breakfast favorite.

The other extreme would have had me pitting everything in Germany against America. It was easy sometimes to think, “Man, their houses here are built so much better and look so much more attractive,” while also envying their bike routes and train system. I found myself hating America’s individualized fixation on roads, cars, and strip malls. However, Germany has its fair-share of poorly built cities and shopping centers, places where pragmatism trumped beauty and longevity.

In addition, I can’t fault America for not having the same heritage and culture as Germany. We certainly have built our fair share of quaint or beautiful buildings. In some places we’re learning to appreciate our downtowns. The tide is certainly turning. And of course America has such a rich diversity of landscape that I’m sure Germans must envy. From our variety of mountain formations, coastlines, and mid-land regions, America has much to love.

My world is now a bit larger than it used to be. New lifestyles and routines now seem possible. I’ll most likely go on with my life as before in many ways, however I shouldn’t underestimate the impact that even a week abroad has had. Who knows how my time in Germany has changed the way I view house construction, transportation, food, recreation, gardening, and historic preservation. Seeing how another culture handles these things has done me a world of good.

I was particularly struck by the inscription on a building from the 1300-1400’s that was restored after being threatened with demolition by a developer: “Lord, save me from planners and cultural idiots.”

Amen.

In Flickering Pixels pastor Shane Hipps has provided a much-needed glimpse into the power of media and technology in shaping the Christian faith. Hipps writes with a pastor’s sensitivities, and has succeeded in providing a readable and insightful book.

At the outset of the book Hipps speaks of media and technology (such as TV and online networks and media) as extensions of ourselves, rather than things we serve (35). This is a call for thoughtful reflection on the role of media in our lives, a project worth considering during holy seasons such as Lent or Advent.  In addition, when media and technology are pushed to their extremes, they can have the reverse effect—his examples being cars that speed us up, but also cause traffic jams and the internet giving us more information, but also a glut of information and sometimes incorrect information (37).

Many Christians will benefit greatly to read the evaluation Hipps provides of the effects print media has had on the way society thinks (moving to more linear, logical thinking) and hence the ramifications for the way we present the Gospel (a linear equation that is accepted rationally without emotions clouded reason) and how Christianity in general has become fixated on studying the Bible to the exclusion of other aspects of the faith (48-52). This shift led to the elevation of Paul in Biblical study—really, if I had a nickel for every study of Roman out there right now… For those who have never considered the possibility of Christianity flourishing in a generally illiterate society, Hipps is crucial reading. Rather than demoting the Bible, he provides a broad sweep of history and enables readers to appreciate the way media has influenced our worship over the years.

Much like Pastor Tim Keel, Hipps points to the importance of preserving imagination today as we have shifted from a print culture into an image culture that relies of images and for information, advertising, and entertainment. In other words, Hipps isn’t critical of one form of media. He wants his readers to be cognizant that the barrage of images on television made our minds passive and lethargic, even if the up side is a greater appreciation for the Gospel stories about Jesus (80-81).

Hipps provides a warning to those who prefer relating online as opposed to finding community in person, as such virtual settings are no substitute for physical gatherings with believers (114-115). While Hipps is not opposed to the use of online networks, he cautions us from believing they are value neutral and have no influence on us simply by their very existence. In other words, just as print media changed the way we relate to God and the Bible, so took will online media change the way we relate to one another and God.

These warnings are helpful reminders for us today as we leap from one form of media and network to another, seeking to harness the power of each new thing. Even if Hipps can sometimes sound a bit too critical of online tools, his alarm is justified by the lack of critical reflection at large. When I see evangelicals uncritically embracing business practices and running their churches like small corporations, I can believe that we’ll probably embrace a lot of the muck from the online world and drop it right into our congregations without critically evaluating how these tools in and of themselves will change our communities.

As I finished the book I felt a bit disappointed that Hipps didn’t offer more suggestions about the positive and negative uses of online media today. I felt he did a good job of describing some of the benefits and dangers in the broader picture, but when he criticizes online communities, I think he misses an opportunity to provide some balance. For example, he talks about the ways online networks such as facebook have watered down the intimacy of certain friendships, however I have also used facebook to keep in touch with friends I would otherwise have lost track of and have even had opportunities to be reconciled with people I once offended. There are redemptive uses for these technologies which he doesn’t touch on, and as such I had a hard time taking all of his warnings seriously because I felt he needed to present a more nuanced picture of these media forms.

On another point, while Hipps does an excellent job of pulling back the curtain on the ways media has shaped society over time, he could have tossed in a few more sentences here or there to place his media discussions in the wider context of their times. For example, it almost sounds like Hipps says postmodernism happened because of media changes, but there were other factors such as, oh I don’t know, two world wars and the collapse of colonial powers. In fact, his insinuation that Nietzsche started postmodernism is a solid 50-100 years off—a mistake I can’t believe he made. Perhaps this is a matter of imprecision in his wording—since Nietzsche certainly played a role in the demise of modernism, which eventually paved the way for postmodern thought. Overall though, Hipps steps back from the battles over philosophy and media to simply present readers with a good sketch of how all of these forces shape who were are today.

In the final analysis, I recommend reading Flickering Pixels. I wish I could write with the clarity and ease of Hipps. The pages flew by and his content for the most part is solid and thought-provoking. As Christians seek to minister in the digital age, Shane Hipps is a helpful guide.

The rest of the blogs on the tour:

A Peek at My Bookshelf
AKA Theodore Lewis
Bible Dude
Blog Tour Spot
Bound to His Heart
Callapidder Days
Captain’s Blog
Christian Bookworm Reviews
Christian SEO
Church Relevance
Fictionary
Good Word Editing
it wasn’t me
J’s Spot
Just Thinking . . .
life outside my window
Lighthouse Academy
Man of Depravity
Matt Wiebe
Missio Dei
Monday Morning Insight
My Life Message
One Glory
Paper Bridges
Penning Prose
Pilgrimage of the Heart
Prayerfully Penned
Quiverfullfamily.com
Real Women Scrap
Refresh My Soul
Relevant Blog
Scraps and Snippets
Sumballo
This, That, and the Other Thing
Wildly Appropriate
Willohroots

So the state of Vermont became the first state where its representatives willingly asked to have same sex marriage legalized.

It’s kind of a big deal.

For all of those same sex couples living committed relationships or joined by civil unions, they are now on equal footing with heterosexual couples.

For those opposed to same sex marriage because of the state’s rights versus federal law matter, or however that works out, they’ll be looking into federal action, though who knows how all of that will pan out.

For those opposed to same sex marriage for religious reasons, there are some complex matters to address. At the center of the debate is the fear that those who object to same sex marriage on religious grounds will be marginalized as bigots and be restricted from operating nonprofits and other charities such as adoption clinics. One advocate stated, “Simply put, if you encode into the law that those of us who believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman are bigots, why would you not expect the law to treat us as such?”

I’m not a legal expert, so I’m not so sure the same sex marriage law does that. However, there is fear out there of losing rights even as one group gains them. That fear is enough to drive a wedge between the two sides of this debate, creating a divide that often prevents level-headed discourse. In the months to come we’ll need to see how this plays out, but I wonder if there is something the supporters of same sex marriage can do to allay the fears of this religious block and to possibly pick up some friends and allies along the way. Even if same sex supporters are tasting victory, their opponents are even more fearful and may pursue a course of action that may cause a great deal more trouble down the line.

I’ll be the first to admit right up front that I’m suspicious of this fear, and I’m don’t quite see how Christians will lose free speech in the long run from this debate. There will be some friction with orphanages who only adopt to heterosexual couples, however, I think the vast homosexual conspiracy or movement trying to take over our nation is the figment of a fundraiser’s imagination. Are we on a slippery slope toward Christians losing their rights to this vast homosexual conspiracy?

Let’s step back for a moment for some perspective…

I heard award-winning journalist Chris Hedges characterize the Christian right at a book event. He wrote a book called American Fascists in which he spoke of how dangerous, how power-hungry, and how terrible these fundamentalists Christians (which in his definition included fundies and evangelicals) are. I spent years in Fundamentalist, conservative evangelical, and progressive evangelical congregations, many with conservative politics, and I can tell you that he missed the mark. There is some power and influence on that end of the spectrum, but there is no way Christians are going to take over America when David Kuo writes about George Bush’s folks routinely saying, “The f–king faith-based initiatives.”

The truth is that while Christians on the right espouse powerful rhetoric and even have leaders on the phone with influential folks in Washington, politicians will use interest groups to get elected and to pass policy, but will not obey their every whim. George W. Bush stalled on some abortion measures, held same sex marriage at bay, put off stem cell research, and kept his conservative base happy with some policy tweaks, but if there was ever a president who could have fallen under the sway of a powerful, well-organized religious conspiracy, he was the guy. He owed the most to them, especially in 2004.

What happened?

The Christians didn’t get all that much out of him. No bans on abortion. No lasting bans on same sex marriage. In short, Christians put “their guy” into office, and no sweeping changes were instituted in America. Hedges can’t be right about conservative Christians because they accomplished so little under Bush. You’d have thought they would have banned a lot more.

And so if Hedges, a respected journalist, could misread the rhetoric and influence of Christians, then I’m willing to hedge my bets that voices on the right are overestimating the agenda behind same sex marriage. They talk as if cells of homosexuals are working overtime to take over America and to lock up our churches, if not the Christians themselves.

I know plenty of same sex couples, and let me tell you, they just want to get married and to be done with all of this struggle. They want to find a job, home, and love with another person. In fact, they want to be free to do their own thing much like the Christian conservatives who fear them. Many of them attend church regularly, and if they don’t, they’re not out bashing Christians. The vast majority of people who voted same sex marriage into law  and supported the measure throughout the state saw this as a civil rights struggle for equality, not a building block on their way to taking over America.

For the most part they don’t want to indoctrinate Christians or to force them to change their beliefs. They just wanted their law and can now get on with their lives.

I will say that I can’t reconcile same sex marriage with the Bible, though I know plenty of God-fearing Christians who do, but I have absolutely no interest in trying to control how the state defines marriage. There are plenty of churches that will welcome same sex couples with open arms, so why should I try to stop the state from legislating as it sees fit.

My job is to seek first God’s Kingdom, not to make America into a Christian nation. My job is to make sure there are Christians in America—with America remaining a secular state much different from the Kingdom of God. I’d like to not lose my freedom of speech, but my primary concern as a follower of Jesus is to, well, follow Jesus, not the creation of a national religion.

There will always be firebrands on both sides, the kinds of people who stir the pot and make the more level-headed among us nervous. These are the people who make the news, but they should not be allowed to control the dialogue. I hope that Christians and same sex supporters can move beyond the fear and rhetoric to find some common ground. I think we’ll find a lot more in common than we’d expect, a lot less to fear, and much to respect, even if we don’t see eye to eye on how to interpret the Bible.

There are few books by Christians that articulate the importance of the arts, especially for Christians. In Refractions, globally renowned artist Makoto Fujimura presents an articulate, compelling, and beautiful case for the arts in our world and in Christian communities.

Some readers, especially non-artists, may balk at his grand philosophical visions for the arts, and his seeming overstatements about the actual process of painting (does he really think about everything he claims to think about when he picks up a brush or mixes his colors). However, these speed bumps for some give way to a rich series of stories and reflections that are not only profound and relevant, but worth pondering and rethinking.

I suggest that this book, like good art, demands a slow, careful reading, rereading, and reevaluating. We may not be able to relate to Fujimura’s painting process on the first read, but as we enmesh ourselves in his ideas and vision for art, we begin to see the significance of every act for an artist, the power of creating, and the need for this kind of careful reflection and refraction in our everyday lives.

A More In-Depth Look…

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I’m excited to be hosting my first open discussion with a Sunday School class from High Point Church regarding my Contemporary Issues Study Guide that goes with Coffeehouse Theology. Dietrich Gruen is involved in leading the class and has sent some material for me to review as a springboard for the discussion. I welcome comments from those in the class and those just following along online.

Here we go…

Jin S. Kim is founding pastor of Church of All Nations, and he delivered an address titled “Walking Humbly,” at the 218th General Assembly of the PCUSA on June 24, 2008. I have pulled a few key quotes from the sermon, but I encourage you to read the whole thing if you have ten minutes. I’ll begin with some highlights and then move on to personal and biblical reflection.

WALKING HUMBLY

Kim begins with hopeful stories from Church of All Nations that serve as an appropriate foil for the status quo approach to race in America:

“Today, we all seem to be caught up in a virtuous cycle of lifting up and valuing other individuals and cultures, to “consider others better than oneself.” The culture of public confession, corporate repentance, joyful celebration and vulnerable relationality that we have cultivated at Church of All Nations is key to understanding the dynamism and eschatological hope evident in our life together.”

He goes on to address the larger problem of racism in American particularly.

“How do we justify oppression, slavery, the theft of land, theft of labor, genocide, rape and exploitation of every kind done unto non-European peoples? How do these Christians break every one of the Ten Commandments, violate the Beatitudes, and defy every teaching of Jesus in perpetrating a global holocaust on to non-white peoples around the world? How do Christian nations do that? It’s really simple. Invent racism.”

He follows this with a particularly powerful diagnosis of the origin and function of racism in America—points that Christians cannot afford to ignore:

“It’s clear that racism is a philosophical construct, one invented by Christian nations to absolve themselves of the atrocities of empire, to do what every power-hungry nation has done to another, and still call themselves Christian. It’s one of the biggest self-deceptions ever invented in human history, and that self-deception continues to undergird American life.”

Kim’s sermon ends with a powerful confession:

“On behalf of all Korean immigrants in this country, I apologize to you, my African American sisters and brothers, and ask your forgiveness. On behalf of all Korean immigrants, I also apologize to our Native American sisters and brothers for benefitting from the land that was stolen from you. And on behalf of all Korean Americans, I apologize to my white American sisters and brothers, for when we as Asians gladly exploit the “model minority” myth for our own advantage, we are complicit in perpetuating racial divisions and the dehumanization of us all. I humbly ask all of you: Please forgive me and my people, by the grace of God.”

RACE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

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I thought it would be awesome to have an informal gathering of nonprofit and church/synagogue leaders from our community to discuss possible partnerships and ways we can work together, as well as things that won’t work. I’m in the planning stages now, and I’m looking for ideas.

While I have a relative direction for this, I want to make sure I take full advantage of this gathering. There is no doubt in my mind that I’m missing out on some great questions to ask. So drop me a line and let me know what you think! Thanks!

It’s easy to praise Martin Luther King with forty years to cushion us from his message, methods, and goals. We see his results, admire his legacy, and revere him for his courage and commitment to justice.

The Christian elements of the civil rights movement is certainly a mixed bag. Some Christians used the Bible to support segregation such as the folks at Bob Jones University (by the way, did you know that school wasn’t desegregated until the 1990’s?).

Other Christians urged for desegregation, but didn’t resort to protests, sit-ins, marches, and civil disobedience in the face of unjust laws. Billy Graham fits into this category, as he refused to preach to segregated audiences, even removing ropes that would have kept whites and blacks separate. However, he was uneasy with breaking the law, even if the laws were unjust.

And then you have the legacy of Martin Luther King, a Christian minister who struggled for equality. Remember, in his day he was perceived by many as radical and too extreme. He was urged to be patient, to wait this out. His civil disobedience was perceived as potentially dangerous.

While we do well to honor King, we should remember that his methods were deemed too radical and his dreams too grandiose. If we desire to honor him today, we should start asking, “What should we be dreaming and what should we do to make these dreams a reality?”

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