More Light Welcomes GA Worshipers

As folks entered the conference center for worship on Sunday, More Light Presbyterians welcomed them with song.

Church Orders is meeting today and will hear testimony regarding overtures relating to ordination. More Light Presbyterians is blogging live from this committee. Check it.

Born Fightin' Presbyterians

The 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is off and running. 219 assemblies are quite a number. We have been thinking we are important for quite some time. Of course our representative democracy closely parallels and was the inspiration for the government of the United States. We Presbyterians like to brag that we started the Revolution. King George III called it "that Presbyterian rebellion" or something like that. Rev. John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister, was the only clergyperson to sign the Declaration of Independence.

The church I presently serve traces its roots back to the Revolution. A bunch of "born fightin'" Scotch-Irish mustered at Fort Watauga and ran down the British at the Battle of King's Mountain. After that, it was all over.

We ornery, hard-nosed Presbyterians have been fighting and democratizing for some time. Every issue that we face as a country, we take on at a General Assembly. This year is no different. In addition to issues that are internal ecclesiastical issues, we tackle big ticket items. Tackling them means nothing more than we offer our opinion.

But the process of writing, receiving, hearing, debating, and ultimately voting and publicly expressing our opinions on issues that face our country and our world does have effects.

• We seek to hear voices that are not heard at all or as much as they should be heard.
• We raise awareness and consciousness.
  

If you wander over to the sidebar of this blog and find a link called PC Biz, you will find a site that takes you to all the business before this assembly divided up into a number of committees. Check out Committee 13 "Peacemaking and International Issues" and you will find resolutions calling for an end to military activity in Afghanistan, and to suspend expanded military presence in Colombia.

Presbyterians aren't the same as they were in 1780. It might be hard to imagine our fightin' forebears considering a resolution like this:

To direct appropriate General Assembly Mission Council staff, and to call on all congregations to enter into a six-year “time of discernment” seeking clarity on whether God is calling the church, at this historic moment, to embrace nonviolence as its fundamental response to war and terror.

Every issue from marriage equality, to Israel/Palestine, to ecology, to ending discrimination against women, has a resolution (or more than one). For the next couple of days, committees will meet, combine. rearrange, and debate all the resolutions, and send some kind of action upon them to the plenary session of the entire General Assembly on Wednesday. The larger body will debate, possibly amend, and approve or disapprove what the committees have sent to it.


It is an entertaining process. You learn a lot about the world. You learn a whole lot about Robert's Rules of Order, and perhaps more than anything you move beyond an oppressive cynicism that tells us that in this world there is nothing anyone can do about anything.

No, there is one thing we can do. Each of us can express and seek to defend a point of view. We can care enough to speak. We can be respectful enough to allow others to do the same.

Jesus, the Party Animal--A Sermon

Jesus, The Party Animal
John Shuck

First Presbyterian Church
Elizabethton, Tennessee

July 4th, 2010

Luke 7:31-35
Matthew 11:16-19

Some people are just never happy.

No matter what you do, some people still will not like you.

The sooner we learn the lesson that we cannot please everyone the more at peace we will be in our own skin. If we don’t learn that lesson we will forever be changing ourselves in order to meet the expectations of others. No cat will ever catch that tail.

We played the flute for you,
But you wouldn’t dance;
We sang a dirge,
But you wouldn’t weep.

Apparently, that was a verse of common wisdom that Jesus used to make a comparison. The same people who were criticizing John the Baptist were criticizing Jesus. The criticism against John was that he fasted and led an ascetic lifestyle. The criticism against Jesus is that he ate and drank. Jesus is saying,

“You guys are never happy. You don’t like fasting. You don’t like feasting. We play the flute, you don’t dance. We sing a dirge, you don’t weep. Your are nothing more than a bunch of whiners. Wisdom is vindicated by her children. Or in other words, If the shoe fits, wear it. Truth is as truth does. Am I right or am I right? ”

Jesus is showing that his critics are simply shallow whiners. They are ignoring the message of both John the Baptist and Jesus by criticizing their personal lives. That is an old, old trick that the busybodies fusspots, tattletales, and scolds never tire of playing.

If someone is saying something that really matters, fusspots don’t argue the substance, they attack their personal habits, or personality, or the way they dress. It doesn’t matter if a prophet comes fasting or feasting, those who cannot or will not hear the message will find a reason to disregard the messenger. Jesus here is exposing this hypocrisy.

We know this is true. Think of the people who made a difference and were agents of social or political change. Prophets we might call them. How often were they criticized for things that had nothing to do with their message or work. If you can find a way to discredit the messenger, then we won’t need to hear the message.

Think of all the criticism Al Gore has received for stuff that has nothing to do with his message about making us aware of the impact our use of fossil fuels is having on the climate. Think of former President Jimmy Carter, who told the truth to the American people about energy in the 1970s. We didn’t want to hear it. So we found a way to dismiss him.

Jesus says, “What do members of this generation remind me of?” The answer? Whiners with deaf ears who miss the point. Elsewhere Jesus is reported to have wept over Jerusalem and said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you murder the prophets and stone those sent to you.”

But you know, it is no use complaining about that either. If you are going to be an agent of change, unwarranted criticism and scrutiny are part of the package. Do the best you can, hold your head high, and never, never, never, never give up.

Or as a member of my previous congregation liked to tell me when I was feeling discouraged,

“Party on.”

Jesus was a party animal. That was the conclusion by the Jesus Seminar. Jesus was not an ascetic. He did not shun the pleasures of life but embraced them. He ate and he drank and he did it with the wrong crowd: toll collectors, sinners, and women and men of ill repute. Historical Jesus scholar Dominic Crossan said Jesus practiced an open table.

What we see in the sketch of Jesus is a person who approached life with amazement, wonder, and awe.

• It is doubtful that he would have ever come up with anything close to resembling a doctrine of original sin.
  
• It is doubtful that he would have ever thought that he needed to die on the cross for the sins of others.
  
• It is doubtful that he thought that humanity was fallen and needed redemption.
  
• It is doubtful that he would have ever thought that we are ultimately spirits or souls trapped in bodies.

All of those doctrines were attributed to Jesus, but I doubt they were part of his own awareness.

I cannot know that for sure. I can only interpret his life from my perspective. I see in Jesus a person who was in love with life. He was so much in love with life, that those who could not experience joy and pleasure despised him. They called him a glutton and a drunkard. Then they killed him.

This poem by Mary Oliver describes those poor souls. It is called A Bitterness:

I believe you did not have a happy life.
I believe you were cheated.
I believe your best friends were loneliness and misery,
I believe your busiest enemies were anger and depression.
I believe joy was a game you could never play without stumbling.
I believe comfort, though you craved it, was forever a stranger.
I believe music had to be melancholy or not at all.
I believe no trinket, no precious metal, shone so bright as
your bitterness.
I believe you lay down at last in your coffin none the wiser
and unassuaged.
Oh, cold and dreamless under the wild, amoral, reckless, peaceful
flowers of the hillsides.

After reading that poem I realized that I don’t ever want to be remembered that way. I felt sorry not angry for those who didn’t see the joy in the life of Jesus or in the lives of the prophets of grace or in the lives of those who could experience happiness.

If there is anything that will save the human species it will be a recovery of joy, humor, awe, amazement, and pleasure. We will need to turn to Earth and accept its transience. We cannot cling or hold. We can only float with it.

We need like a she-bear to scoop out the honey when we find it. This is again, Mary Oliver. This poem is Happiness:

In the afternoon I watched
the she-bear; she was looking
for the secret bin of sweetness -
honey, that the bees store
in the trees’ soft caves.
Black block of gloom, she climbed down
tree after tree and shuffled on
through the woods. And then
she found it! The honey-house deep
as heartwood, and dipped into it
among the swarming bees - honey and comb
she lipped and tongued and scooped out
in her black nails, until

maybe she grew full, or sleepy, or maybe
a little drunk, and sticky
down the rugs of her arms,
and began to hum and sway.
I saw her let go of the branches,
I saw her lift her honeyed muzzle
into the leaves, and her thick arms,
as though she would fly -
an enormous bee
all sweetness and wings -
down into the meadows, the perfections
of honeysuckle and roses and clover -
to float and sleep in the sheer nets
swaying from flower to flower
day after shining day.

Bitterness or Happiness?

Life is so short.
We get one spin on the big wheel.
This day will never come again.
Neither this moment.
Party on, friends.
Party on!

Bolbach Elected Moderator

We have a moderator! Cynthia Bolbach won it. Because there were six candidates it took several ballots. Elder Bolbach is a fine choice. Check out her webpage.




She was one of the two solidly pro-equality candidates:

Those in favor of the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in our life together – and I include myself in that group – believe that we fail to satisfy the Gospel imperative of inclusiveness as we continue to exclude gays and lesbians from leadership in our church.

Quote to remember her by:

I have to admit, up front, that on a personal basis I’d probably rather share a beer with Martin Luther than with John Calvin.

Congratulations, Ms. Bolbach! Party on!

General Assembly Has Begun!

The 219th General Assembly has begun. You can watch live streaming of plenary sessions on the special website created for this event.


Here is the docket. Election of the moderator begins at seven p.m. tonight. It is also entertaining to follow those twittering GA with the hashtag #ga219.




I, however, am going to spend the evening with family. The grill, a movie, and fireworks are on our docket.

Happy 4th!

Serving Two Masters

The July/August Biblical Archaeology Review arrived in the mail today. I thumbed through it and found this editorial by Ronald Hendel, Farewell to SBL: Faith and Reason in Biblical Studies. It was a depressing piece. Hendel suggests that SBL, in order to increase its numbers,

"has reached out to evangelical and fundamentalist groups, promising them a place within the SBL meeting....What's wrong with bringing in these groups? Well, some of them proselytize at the SBL meetings. One group invited some Jewish scholars to their session, asked them if they observed the Sabbath, and handed them materials intended to convert them. And recently the SBL online book review journal (Review of Biblical Literature) has featured explicit condemnations of the ordinary methods of critical scholarly inquiry, extolling instead the religious authority of orthodox Christian faith....The views of creationists, snake-handlers and faith-healers now count among the kinds of Biblical scholarship that the society seeks to foster."

I don't know much about the SBL. I bought a membership for one year but didn't attend any meetings. I assumed SBL was about critical scholarship. I thought Hendel might be exaggerating. But I then read some of the online responses to this article and realize that he is probably right. Here is an example:

In Response to your quote: "The views of creationists, snake-handlers and faith-healers now count among the kinds of Biblical scholarship that the society seeks to foster." Remarkable...I am a creationist that believes God was solely responsible for the created world sans evolution. You have already judged that opinion without hearing my thought or research. Doesn't that put you in the same camp as those with whom you disagree? I thought the SBL was for debate not singularity of position.

Yep. The fundies have come home to roost. From my soapbox, the PC (U.S.A.) is in a similar position. The central issues before us are not the gay, Israel/Palestine, or right or left politics. They have to do with religious literacy and critical scholarship vs. orthodox Christian dogma and fideistic approaches to the Bible. We can pretend to have both for a while, but as our Lord told us, "You cannot serve two masters." Which will you choose?

"We Are Under Assault"

Two overtures before the General Assembly relate to Earth care. I thought there was an overture specifically related to stopping mountain top removal strip mining but there isn't. However, committee eleven could address mountain top removal mining in its deliberations and reaffirm this commissioner's resolution of 2006.

The two overtures before this committee are

• 11-01 On Lifting Up the "Call to Restore the Creation"
• 11-03 On Making Resources Available Regarding Destruction and Loss of Coastal Wetlands

These overtures were sent to GA before the BP disaster. Now is the time for the commissioners to bring awareness to the church regarding how our fossil fuel addiction is destroying life.

Thanks to an organization called LEAF (Lindquist-Environmental Appalachian Fellowship) every church in our presbytery received a dvd and book about creation care. At the last presbytery meeting we watched a segment on Mountain Top Removal.

Some folks weren't aware it was happening and few knew the extent.

Go here for some pictures.


Five hundred mountains have had their tops ripped off and turned inside out. It is devastating. To learn more go to I Love Mountains and discover your connection to Mountain Top Removal.

People of faith (such as those at LEAF) are realizing that this is a faith issue. Thanks to Presbyterians for Earth Care, the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii, and the PC (U.S.A.) Washington Office for joining 25 other Christian groups in urging President Obama and the EPA to close the Clean Water Act loophole and stop mountain top removal. Check the story.

Here is why it is important. Watch this four minute video from the film, Kilowatt Hours:

"They use 2500 tons of explosives a day in Appalachia. That's why I say we're under assault. We are under attack."
--Judy Bonds

Tennessee is next. Check out this editorial in the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Our mountains are being sized up for slaughter.


If you are a church in East Tennessee, LEAF will give you these educational materials at no charge:

Because LEAF’s mission is to draw attention to the scriptural call for Creation Care among East Tennessee’s congregations, we offer educational materials to churches within the region, free of charge. Contact us at tnleaf.org@gmail.com and we will send your church a free copy of the book Serve God, Save the Planet, By Matthew Sleeth, M.D., the DVD Mountain Mourning (produced by Christians for the Mountains in West Virginia) and Kilowatt Ours, by Nashville filmmaker, Jeff Barrie.

The devastation to marine and human life in and around the Gulf of Mexico and the devastation to the mountains and people of Appalachia are related. It is the same cause. Fossil fuels. Their production is peaking all over the planet as demand increases. Will we destroy everything in a feeble, desperate attempt to maintain what we cannot sustain?

We don't have forever. Now is the time.



Presbyterians for Earth Care has important information for commissioners at this General Assembly, particularly those assigned to committee 11.


Make your statement as strong as you can. While, the particular recommendations are important, what is more important is that you make noise about it and never stop.

Please take time to read their latest newsletter.

In the article, "Oil and Water: A Kairos Time?" PEC coordinator, Jenny Holmes writes:

May we not let this time pass without listening deeply to the cries of creation in the Gulf, praying fervently out of what we hear and providing the leadership and hope that God invites; in our congregations, at General Assembly in July and in our communities.

That is nicely said. I will put it more bluntly.

Everyone needs to raise hell now. Otherwise we will be living in it.

Getting Nerdified for Presbyterian Assembly

On the sidebar are a few links for General Assembly. As I make posts I will drop them over yonder. You will also find links to the basics: More Light, Presbyterian Voices for Justice, CovNet, That All May Freely Serve, Outlook, the official GA site, Twitter, and PC Biz (business before the assembly). If you think of others I should add, let me know. I won't add links to the fundie sites. I will channel information from them to you via my special voodoo that I do.

This is nice. We have a group at our church called "knitting for charity." They come together, they knit, they give it away. When I announced on More Light Sunday about knitting scarves for the commissioners through More Light Presbyterians, I didn't hear anything about it.

That is, until today when they presented me with eight beautiful scarves. They are on their way to the More Light booth via one of our commissioners. So More Light folks, please look for them. I didn't get a chance to label them but you will know they are from us as they are in a East Tennessee State University bookstore bag!

Love it.

Eternity In Hell With the Gays--Woot!

In today's LayMAN, guess who is mentioned? Yes, yours truly, son of Adam, is once again the bad example and the naughty boy of the PCUSA. Everything that is wrong with this denomination is epitomized, nay, incarnated, in the person and work of that messiah of apostasy, John Shuck, and his weak-kneed presbytery who is unable to contain him. To wit, from Larry Brown:

John Shuck, pastor of First Presbyterian of Elizabethton, TN, denies the bodily resurrection of Jesus and has said that if Jesus were to condemn homosexuality, then he, Shuck, would rather spend eternity in hell with the gays. The problem is not with an individual named John Shuck; the problem is that there is a presbytery in which someone like him can be a member in good standing.

Larry is digging through the archives for that one. That reference goes all the way back to my chats with Pastor Bob nearly three years ago. Here is the post that I still think is pretty good. Larry, catch up will ya? I have posted far more flamboyant heresies since then.

And that is exactly right, Larry. If Jesus were to condemn "homosexuality" I would rather spend eternity in hell with the gays.

But it isn't Jesus. It is the self-righteous Christians who have made life hell on earth for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. I will gladly stand in hell with the gays than in "heaven" with those who condemn.

On a previous comment thread, Alan linked to this blog post, I Hugged a Man in His Underwear and I am Proud. Here is an excerpt:

I hugged a man in his underwear. I think Jesus would have too.

I spent the day at Chicago’s Pride Parade. Some friends and I, with The Marin Foundation, wore shirts with “I’m Sorry” written on it. We had signs that said, “I’m sorry that Christians judge you,” “I’m sorry the way churches have treated you,” “I used to be a bible-banging homophobe, sorry.” We wanted to be an alternative Christian voice from the protestors that were there speaking hate into megaphones.

What I loved most about the day is when people “got it.” I loved watching people’s faces as they saw our shirts, read the signs, and looked back at us. Responses were incredible. Some people blew us kisses, some hugged us, some screamed thank you. A couple ladies walked up and said we were the best thing they had seen all day. I wish I had counted how many people hugged me. One guy in particular softly said, “Well, I forgive you.”

Watching people recognize our apology brought me to tears many times. It was reconciliation personified.

My favorite though was a gentleman who was dancing on a float. He was dressed solely in white underwear and had a pack of abs like no one else. As he was dancing on the float, he noticed us and jokingly yelled, “What are you sorry for? It’s pride!” I pointed to our signs and watched him read them.

Then it clicked.

Then he got it.

He stopped dancing. He looked at all of us standing there. A look of utter seriousness came across his face. And as the float passed us he jumped off of it and ran towards us. In all his sweaty beautiful abs of steal, he hugged me and whispered, “thank you.”

This is the type of contrition and reconciliation that the PC (U.S.A.) needs to do at this General Assembly. There will be no healing for our denomination until the Church apologizes and seeks forgiveness and reconciliation from those we have condemned. We condemned them, not Jesus or God. The height of blasphemy is to condemn others and then blame one's own prejudice on God or Jesus.

If you really believe in an eternal hell, Larry, you ought to worry about what you say about God's people.

Commissioners, it is time. Make some apologies and make it right.

New PCUSA Website! Thanks B R-C!

Just in time for the General Assembly, the PCUSA has a splashy new website. When I checked it out, who is the first guy I see? Why Will McGarvey! I have never met Will but I feel like I know him via social media. There he is giving a plug for Presbyterianism. He says:

I'm a Presbyterian because we don't check our heads at the door.

Say that again with fancy letterin' please...

Thanks.

Frankly, that is why I decided to return to church in my twenties. I married into the PC (U.S.A.) but I became involved because intellect and reason is central to our identity. I am always pushing for more religious and scientific literacy and less of what I call "superstition" but overall I am proud and grateful to be a part of this family of faith.

While waxing sentimental, I also want to thank our current moderator, Bruce Reyes-Chow. I don't know what involvement he has had with the new webpage, but I am certain he provided the mojo for us to improve our web presence.

Bruce has brought a number of gifts to our church. One such gift is that he is accessible.



Here is a dopey picture to prove it. (I am the dopey one).



Obviously, he is accessible through Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and whatever else. But his gift is far more significant than merely being savvy with technology. He understands communication. He knows how to connect with people. He treats all with respect. How? He takes the time. He takes the time to respond to everyone and he takes the time to listen to what folks have to say. He took his role as moderator seriously and he worked hard at it.

Thanks, Bruce.

It has been a good run!