And Most Anything Organized (a follow up to the last post)

Studies, surveys, and polls, they are a dime a dozen.  They are often contradictory, and usually reflect the perspective of the organization that contracted to have them done.  After all, as I tell people, if you want compliments, pay cash!  Much of the study/survey/polling world functions that way.  They discover what they are paid to discover.  In the midst of the cynicism brought about through human reality, over time there are trends that the polling world slowly reveals.  For me, one of the most disturbing and most understandable trends is the rise of the “nones.”

The “nones” refer to the number of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation, no religious preference, or no religion at all.  According to an October 9 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life study, the “nones” now total more than 46 million Americans with one-in-three U.S. adults under 30 as “nones.”  With the numbers of U.S. Protestant and non-denominational churches in decline and Catholics flat-lined, “nones” are growing faster than any Christian group in the U.S.  Here is my issue, I get it.

Over the past thirty to forty years people have watched the excitement and controversy of the birth of the early 1980s Christian Evangelical Revivalism as it morph into the political extremism of the Religious Right.  We’ve seen the Scriptural faithfulness of Classical Liberal Theology move against the injustices of racism; follow God’s Biblical call to address poverty; and, overtime steadily join their more conservative brothers and sisters as they are co-opted into larger political issues that draw them away from the teachings of Scripture.  The world has witnessed the moral failings, public scandals, outrageous statements and teachings, and controversies of very public religious leaders such as Jim Baker, Ted Haggard, Gene Robinson, Jerry Falwell, numerous mainline denominations, and any number of television evangelists selling everything from books, to cds, to dvds, to miracle spring water and prayer cloths.  Add to this the global effects of 9/11, international religious terrorism, the wackos of the Westboro Baptist Church and I understand why people increasingly no longer take religion, any religion, especially Christianity, seriously.

We purportedly follow one we call Savior, Messiah, Redeemer, Chosen One, Lord, the Way, who, when he was asked a question by a religious leader of his day that essentially meant something along the lines of “How does one really follow God?  What does it really mean to follow God?  Is it the right theology?  Is it the right style of worship?  Is there a correct political party?  What does it mean to follow God?”  Jesus said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it:  ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

There it is.  That is why the “nones” are growing.  It is because of who we have become when Jesus calls us to be so much more.  My heart aches when I look at the Church universal, when I look at churches individually, when I look at what we have become, isolated little camps of unrelated followers of individuals, causes, theologies, politics, and policies, when Jesus called us to love God and those around us.  Want to help the “nones” find God.  Love God enough that you love your family.  Love God enough that you are involved in helping others.  Love God enough that you give to a food pantry, teach your kid’s Sunday School class, go on a mission trip, show up for worship more than at weddings and funerals.  Love God enough that you are willing to love others even though it is not always easy or convenient.  It just might change someone’s life.  It might just change someone’s mind and heart about God.  I guarantee it will change yours.

(Thanks for the photo Cindy!)

Organized Religion (and most anything organized) Is Toxic

A greatphotographer and outstanding poet that I had the privilege to cross paths with many years ago and, through the magic of Facebook, have been able to keep up with uses the phrase “Organized Religion is Toxic.”  This may sound really odd coming from a pastor, but I completely agree.  Indeed, most things we humans organize have the tendency of becoming toxic, destructive, and deadly.

Take an honest look at this thing we Christians call faith in Jesus.  Jesus stood opposed to most of the elements of the organized religion of his day.  He referred to religious leaders as a “brood of vipers.”  He took long standing and accepted religious activities of his day, such as exchanging money for offerings and sacrifices in the Temple, and tried to end these practices using brute force.  He was open and welcoming to groups alienated from his faith such as lepers, Gentiles, and others.  However, we have to remember that Jesus regularly gathered in the Temple and in local Synagogues for worship and Biblical study.  He taught the inherit value of God’s Word and the importance of living for God not only as individuals but also as a collective.

Much of what we witness today that makes organized religion and many other institutions and practices arranged by humans so toxic is us.  The toxic nature of organized religion, politics, or whatever, is found in the extremes.  The extremes of the churches and denominations that are quick to condemn those who do not agree with them.  The extremes of organized faiths that are willing to shed blood over differences of opinions and interpretations even among people who actually share the same faith.  Whether it is religion, politics, or most any topic these days, we are so convinced that we are right and everyone else is wrong, that we condemn, spew the venom of gossip and falsehoods, and deeply mangle the love we claim to proclaim beyond any recognizable form. 

Our problem, we begin to replace our faith with our personal opinion and practice.  And when that happens, “The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God” (Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith).  We are dealing only with our own preferences and prejudices and we forget we just might be wrong.  As one who tries to follow Jesus, I long to be a little less organized, a little less convinced I have all the answers, a little more willing to serve and not be served, and to “work out [my] own salvation with fear and trembling.”  Maybe with such an effort, the small area of religion I occupy will start to become a little less toxic.

I've received several emails asking about the name of the blog.  They have been along the lines of, "Why would someone who grew up in West Texas and now lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia have a blog called 'Leaving the Lifeboat?'"  An excellent question for which I have an answer.

My favorite television show is "Deadliest Catch."  I guess I enjoy it because the life of an Alaskan crab fisherman is about as far removed from my life as I can imagine.  One episode featured interviews with survivors of a boat that sank during a storm.  A survivor was asked, "What was the most frightening part of the ordeal?"  I will never forget the gist of his answer.

He spoke about the confusion surrounding the order to abandon ship.  He recalled the horror of having to jump into the freezing water in the middle of the night.  You could see the emotional pain in his face when he spoke about the physical pain associated with the extremely cold water and the difficulty in swimming to the life boat.  Then, he told the most terrifying part of the experience.

The most terrifying part of the experience for him came at the point that I thought would be the place of greatest joy.  In a very slow monotone he said the most terrifying moment came when the Coast Guard located them and sent a diver into the water.  The diver said something to the survivors to the effect, "The hardest part is over.  All you have to do is get in the basket and everything will be okay."  With the words of the diver the crewman froze, became motionless, due to uncontrollable fear.

He looked at the camera with tears in his eyes and spoke about his refuge, the life boat that had saved him from the water, protected him from the cold, and gave him hope.  Now, he was being asked to leave the life boat.  At the core of his being, something screamed at him, "Leave the life boat and you will die."  When his turn came to be lifted to the safety of the helicopter waiting above, he did not want to leave the life boat.  Rationally he knew that survival necessitated his leaving the life boat.  He was terrified.  He summoned all his courage, got out of the life boat and lived!

For me, this story symbolizes the essence of life, faith, and hope.  It is so simple to get locked into our way of life.  We are safe and warm in our comfort zone.  We believe that the key to life is staying where we are.  What we fail to realize is that often our since of security, our comfort, is killing us.  We have become so conditioned to our life boat that we fail to step out of the familiar, we are terrified to step out of the boat to new life.  So, stuck in our own problems, issues, patterns, habits, routines, we slowly but surely emotionally, spiritually, and (sometimes) physically die.  It is time we left the life boat.  My prayer for myself, my prayer for you, "May you leave your life boat and save your life."

Mark 8:35-36, Jesus said, "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.  For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?"

It's Been A While

It's been a while.  Almost two or three years ago I stopped blogging.  I did so for many reasons.  The reasons we all use in life.  Not enough time, mental block, burned out, interested in other things, and so many more.  But, now I am back.  For all those who followed my strange ramblings in the past, I hope you enjoy, are confused, angered, blessed, find peace, and all those other reasons why you read before.  I love the interaction and the opportunity to share.  And, I loved the questions about life, faith, and more that came from all over the world!

Before I wrote from the white sandy beaches of the Gulf of Mexico.  Now I write from the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  It seems that wherever God has called me, the beauty of God's creation has been obvious.  A little over a year ago, I could walk out on the pier at St. Andrews State Park on Panama City Beach and gaze into the crystal clear aquamarine water.  The rays would guide by.  Bait fish would dart around trying to avoid the dolphins looking for a quick meal.

Now, no matter where I turn the mountains are near by.  To my east are the Blue Ridge and to my west are the Alleghenies.  The Blue Ridge are closer.  I love seeing the mist work its way through the trees and over the ridges.  From the deer, to the groundhogs, and the wild turkey, the wildlife is abundant and impressive.  Now, as the Fall settles in, the leaves are beginning to turn and God's natural canvas is starting to blaze with yellow, gold, red, and orange.

I am in a new place in life, complete with a brand new set of ups and downs.  In it all God is the constant.  God is the good.  God provides the blessing.  I look forward to our renewed interaction.

For those who lamented the loss of my sermons, now you may hear them again, this time with video!  Go to the church website, www.tinklingspring.com or become a friend of Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church on Facebook or you can skip the church website and go straight to http://vimeo.com/tspc/videos for all the videos the church has ever posted.  The good news is the most recent is posted first.

It's been a while, but it is nice to be back.  1 Corinthians 8:2-3, "Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him."