Go Bruce!

Bruce Reyes-Chow is smokin' hot. He was elected moderator of the PC(USA). Here is the breakdown:

First Ballot:

• Carl Mazza--14%
• Bruce Reyes-Chow--48%
• Roger Shoemaker--2%
• Bill Teng--35%

You need 51%, so they did a second ballot:

• Carl Mazza--7%
• Bruce Reyes-Chow--55%
• Roger Shoemaker--1%
• Bill Teng--36%

The Shuck and Jive poll nailed it. Teng and Shoemaker were more conservative and Mazza and Reyes-Chow were more progressive. Both Bruce and Carl spoke out for lgbt inclusion in the church. Teng and Shoemaker were not for lgbt ordination.

This could signal that this GA is ready to make the needed changes and move to a more youthful, inclusive, church.

It is fun watching all the action of the live stream and watching the comments of live GA Bloggers (see the sidebar).

Good night.

Those Preachin' Women

Jim Dahlman, Professor of Communications at Milligan College writes a Saturday column for the Johnson City Press. Today's article, Women Pastors Remain a Rarity, features a couple of my colleagues, Rev. Beth Yarborough of Jonesborough Presbyterian Church and Sharon Amstutz of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Johnson City.

Here is his bit about Beth:

As Beth Yarborough was leaving her office at Jonesborough Presbyterian Church (USA) recently, she met the photographer for the church directory, who was just coming in.
“Are you the secretary?” he asked.
“Actually, I’m the pastor,” she answered. The photographer froze for a moment in awkward shock.
“Oh!” he blurted. “The pastor?”
It was one of the few occasions from Yarborough’s seven-year pastorate when she was pegged by a stereotype. A man in her place, after all, probably wouldn’t have been asked if he was the secretary. But she laughed about it.
“After he got over the initial surprise, he was fine,” she said. “Having a woman as a pastor is still a bit of a rare phenomenon in this region.”

And about Sharon:

Sharon Amstutz, pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (USA) for the past six years, has been warmly received, but she suspects a few families left when her ministry began because of her gender. But she also recalls a particular hospital visit with the church’s oldest member. He had opposed calling a woman as pastor. “But I was wrong,” he told her. She has felt accepted ever since.

Sharon, always the jokester, replied about the difference between women and men pastors:

“There’s really nothing gender-specific I can think of,” Amstutz said. “As a woman, my greatest contribution (compared to male pastors) is that I bring food to the potlucks,” she joked.

C'mon. I have brought chips. In regards to pastoral care:

— although Yarborough did suggest at least one difference when she talked about visiting a dying parishioner in a hospital. The woman didn’t need more medicine, Yarborough realized.
“She just needed a hug, and so I climbed up beside her and just held her for a few minutes,” she recalled. “I don’t think a lot of men would do that.”

Nope. I haven't done that one. What about the authority of women pastors? Sharon said:

“My job is to help people be the body of Christ,” Amstutz said. “That’s not a power over them. I don’t see my job as having authority over anyone. We’re sorting through the Scriptures together.

And from Beth:

Yarborough said she doesn’t think much about being a woman in ministry.

“If someone has a problem, I tell them to talk to God about it, because I know I’ve been called,” she said. “I just think of myself as a pastor. I focus on that. Here I am.”

Jim will continue this series on women pastors next week: "Why not women in ministry? Churches have reasons."

That should be interesting.

I am pleased he featured my two fine colleagues. I am honored to work with both of them in Holston Presbytery.

Ready for GA!!

Shuck and Jive is ready for the General Assembly. On the sidebar are links to help you out. You will find the General Assembly webpage. You will find live streaming video, news links, the schedule of events, and links to legislative action as it happens (pretty much).

Of course, I will be making incredibly wise comments on Shuck and Jive in order that the commissioners may vote my conscience!

Polls to Assist Our GA Commissioners

Here are the results of the Shuck and Jive polls. First for moderator of General Assembly:

Roger Shoemaker	1 (1%)
Bill Teng	23 (28%)
Carl Mazza	9 (11%)
Bruce Reyes-Chow	48 (59%)

It will be curious as to how the votes that count turn out, tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern Time. Watch it on live streaming video.

Here is how Shuck and Jivers responded to the poll on same-gender relationships:

Prohibitionist	11 (22%)
"Definitive Guidance"	5 (10%)
Justice	5 (10%)
Pastoral Care	5 (10%)
Celebrationist	14 (29%)
Consecrationist	8 (16%)

If you were to add the Prohibitionist and Definitive Guidance folks, you end up with 33% who want to retain our current policy. I would say the other 67%--two-thirds would be in favor of removing the discriminatory language at this GA! Commissioners, take note!


What are the roots of homophobia? Shuck and Jivers responded:

By hating gays people can reassure themselves they are not gay.	8 (17%)
Hating lesbians and gay men is seen as a litmus test for being a moral person.	21 (45%)
Heterosexism enforces gender norms.	17 (36%)

And, what is the number one reason, we have not as a society or a church done the right thing regarding equal rights?

Not enough people care about rights for minorities unless it affects them.	5 (11%)
The church provides false information about God's will.	10 (22%)
The church rewards homophobia as a sign of righteousness.	10 (22%)
Too many people think this is about sex not citizenship.	5 (11%)
People who know better are unwilling to speak out.	1 (2%)
Homophobia is a money-maker for the right wing.	3 (6%)
Not enough people have gay and lesbian friends.	0 (0%)
Homophobia is a culturally acceptable prejudice.	10 (22%)

It was hard for Shuck and Jivers to pick just one, but the church seems to be the major contributor to injustice.

Perhaps at this General Assembly, the church will do the right thing? We have been given a great opportunity, a kairos moment. Use it well.

GA Bloggers

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is off and running in San Jose, California. There are a number of ways to catch the action on-line. It is a thrilling show complete with fisticuffs, duals at dawn, sultry guys and gals, mischief, suspense, intrigue, and comedy relief.

And of course, bloggers on the scene. Check in with

Heather Reichgott of Holy Vignettes
Adam Walker Cleaveland for the Presbyterian Outlook
Steve Salyards at the GA Junkie

I will post these links and others as I find them on the sidebar. If you are blogging from GA, let me know and I will add you.

I'll Take My Science Materialistically, Thanks

In my post about the Glendive (Montana) Dinosaur Museum, Doorman-Priest made this interesting comment:

I always find these discussions interesting from the perspective of a European vantage-point. We just don't tend to have this problem to the extent you folk do.

I recently did a four-post series on science and religion. It caused barely a ripple.

Yes, we have a lunatic fringe of evango-fundies, but no-one takes them seriously and they wield no significant influence.

I teach Religious Studies. It is a core element of our national curriculum and it is non-confessional: I don't teach religion, I teach about religions.

I teach a form of I.D. because it has a long standing tradition going back to Newton and Paley. I also look at the Big Bang Theory and Evolution together with the traditional creation myth and Aquinas's First Cause Theory.

My science colleagues would not dream of slipping I.D. into the science curriculum and the government would have industrial action on their hands if they tried to have it introduced.

What is it about the American and European experiences that the outcomes are so different?

D-P is too polite to say it but the Brits are laughing at us. And they may a bit concerned for us. I can't say why Americans and Europeans are different on this. Perhaps others can help with that.

Then I took a quick peek at an ID site, Uncommon Descent. It is a handsome website with smart looking folks. Here is the first sentence of what they hold:

Materialistic ideology has subverted the study of biological and cosmological origins so that the actual content of these sciences has become corrupted.

I am not sure what that means. What is the opposite of materialistic ideology? Immaterialistic ideology? Wouldn't that be some form of theology? Yes, science is materialistic. What else could it be?

When you visit a museum of natural history that is what you get, natural history, not supernatural history. For that, I suppose, you could go to a church and ask a theologian. The corruption of science occurs when it is confused with the supernatural.

Why does a ball roll down an incline plane?

A supernatural, immaterialistic explanation could be this: Because God wills it. That is a perfectly fine explanation. But it is not science. Why is it not science? Because you cannot disprove it. A scientist cannot say whether or not God (or the Devil) wills balls to roll down incline planes. A scientist would look for a materialistic explanation that would make sense of that phenomenon.

Let's say that one day a ball rolled up an incline plane. A supernatural explanation could be that the ball was disobedient to the will of God. Or perhaps on this one occasion, God changed her mind. Either could be a valid supernaturalistic explanation. You couldn't disprove either.

The scientist would look for a materialistic explanation that would make sense of this phenomenon. It could be that the scientist would have to say, "I don't know." Yet if she searched hard enough, perhaps with collaboration with colleagues, eventually, she would find a theory (that could be disproven or modified) without resorting to a supernatural explanation.

This principle of searching for materialistic explanations is the same for special relativity, quantum mechanics, cosmological theory, evolution or what have you. Theologians, supernaturalists, and immaterialists can find supernatural explanations for anything they want. That's fine. It's fun. It's poetic. It makes some people feel secure.

It simply isn't science.

More Light Announcement

Visit the More Light Presbyterian website for information about First Pres., Elizabethton, the latest More Light Church. And just in time for General Assembly. Thanks to Michael Adee for the warm welcome! I know that they are busy getting on the way to San Jose.

I wish I could be there, but I am going to have to settle for virtual GA this year. Shuck and Jive will be one of the places to check out for links to news from General Assembly. This GA could be the one that takes a step forward in justice and removes discriminatory language and policies against LGBT people.

I Love You and Buddha Too

A First Presby sent me this. It is now my new favorite song.

Mason Jennings, I Love You and Buddha Too.

Here are the lyrics.

Lying for Jesus

I spent my vacation visiting family in Glendive, Montana. Glendive is about 40 miles from North Dakota on Interstate I-94. Glendive, like most Eastern Montana towns has been losing population for a couple of decades. It is the prairie. If you follow the Yellowstone River down to Sidney, MT, things are a little better there. They have oil shale in that area that is now economically advantageous to extract.

But not much oil in Glendive. So, Glendive is not a place where there is a great deal of construction. They even lost their McDonald's.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this new building right on the Interstate.



Glendive is the gateway to Montana from the East.




So everyone on the Interstate passes by Glendive and sees this huge, new building.





As you get closer to the building, you read its sign.



A dinosaur and fossil museum. That's cool. Glendive is in the badlands and many dinosaur bones have been discovered here. Makoshika Park in Glendive has a museum. But I am not sure if it is even open.

Follow the Montana Dinosaur Trail. Over ten different dinosaur species have been found in and near Makoshika Park. But Makoshika Park is not on the Interstate.



So what the heck is this place? Here is a picture of the front of the building.




Nice building. Notice the huge dinosaur head. I'll bet it is expensive, too.





Let's take a closer look.






Crap. It is closed. A sign on the window says it will open later this summer. I go to my parents' home and check out its website, www.creationtruth.org. Yeah, it sounds suspicious.

I click the link. Yup. It is the website of a religious nut job. But this one has raised some money to put this phony, deceptive "museum" along Interstate 94.

You will want to check out the website and read the newsletter. The founder, Otis Kline, has raised nearly 2 million bucks for this monstrosity, with more needed. Please pray that the Lord will come through.

Where this money comes from, who knows? I hope it doesn't come from local people who can barely keep the public school functioning, provide basic services, or to provide funding for a real museum!

These folks are lying. It isn't just that they are wrong and stupid. They are intentionally deceiving people. Three examples:

1) This museum does not represent Glendive, even though it is called the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum. It has nothing to do with the city government or the people of Glendive or the State of Montana or any educational institution.

2) It has nothing to do with science, even as it advertises itself as such.

3) It does not represent Christianity (except for these Christian deceivers).

This is ignorance and deception. The people I talked to didn't even know that this museum wasn't a normal scientific museum. They are locals and thought it was a dinosaur museum, apparently like at Makoshika.

People of Glendive, you need to know that the world is going to laugh at you. "Boy, aren't Montanans stupid." You need to make sure that your public schools and your city government distances itself from this place. You need to treat it as you would any fundamentalist church.

You need to be writing letters to the editor of your local paper as well as the Billings Gazette clearly stating that this museum does not represent you. The school board needs to state unequivocally that this is not a place where teachers can take students for a field trip.

If teachers do take students to this "museum" for a field trip, raise hell. It would be like taking a field trip to the local LDS, Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian (if they had one) church for indoctrination lessons.

Teachers at the Dawson County High School and at Dawson County Community College need to state clearly and publicly that this museum is NOT science and point out its deceptions.

If there are any ministers in Glendive with any common sense, you need to denounce this place as an insult to faith.

It is for this reason that we have the Clergy Letter Project. It might be time to check this organization out and sign on.

Here is a news report about these types of museums popping up all over. This is posted on Lying for Jesus:

H/T Debunking

Peace Proposals at General Assembly

Commissioners to the upcoming General Assembly of the PCUSA will consider a number of overtures regarding peacemaking. The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship has written about a number of overtures and included its recommendations. Check out their four-page pdf document.

The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship also provides an analysis and links to the specific overtures on its website. You can check individual topics, including:

1. Regarding Iraq
   
2. Gun Violence
   
3. Colombia
   
4. Israel/Palestine
   
5. A Social Creed for the 21st Century
6. Interfaith Relations and Peacemaking
   
7. Conscientious Objectors
8. Other Peace Related Overtures

This is an excellent website. Easy to navigate with links to the original documents. The PPF has really done their homework for this GA.

Even if you are not Presbyterian, you will find some good stuff on the website and in these overtures. Hopefully, this GA will take a strong stand for peacemaking.

This overture from Baltimore Presbytery is one of the best regarding the Iraq War. It is worth the blog space to post it here:

The Presbytery of Baltimore overtures the 218th General Assembly (2008) to do the following:

1. Pray, in a spirit of deep sorrow and confession, for God’s justice and peace to prevail in Iraq; and recognizing and heeding God’s call to love all persons as made in God’s own image, and even to pray for our enemies, encourage all Presbyterians to be in intentional and regular prayer for everyone in and of Iraq: for Iraqi civilians, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Yezidi; for soldiers and armed actors; for the refugees and the displaced; for the tortured and their torturers; and for insurgents, kidnappers, and terrorists, for all are God’s beloved, all are in need of the transformation of God’s love and God’s peace.

2. Commend and thank the peacemakers who have worked nonviolently to end the war in Iraq through prayers, vigils, and acts of resistance and witness such as the actions organized by the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq; and encourage all Presbyterians to participate enthusiastically in peacemaking efforts to end the occupation of Iraq.

3. Commend and thank members of the armed forces, and their loved ones, for their service and sacrifice.

4. Call upon the United States government to support our military personnel by granting speedy discharges to conscientious objectors; fully funding veterans’ benefits; ensuring that injured service personnel and veterans have the best medical, mental health, and rehabilitation care available; and providing generous benefits to surviving family members.

5. Call upon the government of the United States to end its military presence in Iraq by withdrawing all troops, hired soldiers, and contractors, and permanently closing all military bases in Iraq.

6. Call upon the United States and all member states of the United Nations to establish and fully fund a United Nations peacebuilding mission for Iraq to work in partnership with Iraqi leaders, neighboring nations, and appropriate international governmental and nongovernmental organizations to establish security in Iraq, rebuild institutions and infrastructure, resettle and assist refugees, and initiate a process of truth and reconciliation to promote healing and forgiveness.

7. Call upon the United States and other responsible nations to voluntarily make restitution in an amount adequate to repair war damage; to fully investigate, and where appropriate, in accordance with the principles of due process recognized in U.S. and international law, to prosecute all charges of war crimes including torture and mistreatment of prisoners; and to cooperate completely with any international investigations of war crimes committed by any party to the conflict in Iraq.

8. Call upon the United States to remove all weapons, mines, depleted uranium, and other military waste products from Iraq; to repair other damage to the environment, including priceless archaeological sites.

9. Call upon the United States to return full direct control of Iraq’s oil resources and oil revenues to Iraq.

10. Direct the Stated Clerk to communicate this action to the president of the United States, members of the U.S. Congress, and the secretary-general of the United Nations.