The Portico Theoblog

I don’t often post cut and paste stuff… but this is well worth repeating.  It’s also worth pondering…

RPS

H/T:  Fred Anderson

 A Creation Story for the Third Millennium

In the beginning, God. There was no space, and time had not begun. Then God said, "Let there be a cosmos"; and there was a cosmos, smaller than a grain of sand. And God saw that the cosmos was good; and in it God separated space from time, and caused both to grow. Space was very hot, and God filled it with quarks, gluons, electrons, photons, and other creations. And there was a beginning and a growing, the first stage.

And God said, "Let there be light"; and as the space grew, it cooled, and the quarks and gluons condensed like the dew into protons and neutrons, and as the space expanded further, the protons and neutrons and electrons condensed into atoms of hydrogen and helium, and then there were no more free electrons to trap the photons, and the photons became light. And there was continuing beginning and growing, the second stage.

As the space continued to grow, it became very cold. And God said, "Let the atoms be gathered together, and let stars and galaxies appear"; and wrinkles in space caused the atoms to be gathered into stars and the stars into galaxies. And as space crushed the atoms together into stars, the stars became hotter than the hottest furnace, and the hydrogen was cooked to make helium, and the helium to make other elements, and in this way was all matter created. And God saw that it was good. And there was continuing beginning and growing, the third stage.

Then God said, "Let there be planets, not fiercely hot like the stars, yet not cold like space, but each one warmed by a star"; and the wrinkles in space caused some stars to collect clouds of dust, and the dust to gather together into planets, and the planets to move in orbits round their stars. Since the planets were not hot, their atoms combined into molecules, creating stuff of many different kinds. And one star in one galaxy was called "Sun," and one planet belonging to Sun was called "Earth." And God saw that it was good. And there was continuing beginning and growing, the fourth stage.

When it was first formed, Earth was a place of chaos. As the Spirit of God moved over the chaos, God said "Let dry land appear." And the water on Earth gathered into seas and oceans, and the dry land formed continents. Then God said, "Let Earth bring forth life." And there developed some molecules capable of self-replication, and these eventually evolved into single celled creatures. From these evolved all the plants of the oceans and the dry land, all the fish of the sea, all the birds of the air, and all the animals on dry land. And God saw that it was good. And there was continuing beginning and growing, the fifth stage.

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness." And God selected creatures which were very close to God’s design for humankind, and from these evolved new creatures called Man and Woman. God blessed Man and Woman, and God gave them care over and responsibility for the part of God’s cosmos called Earth. God saw everything that God had made, and indeed it was very good. And there was continuing beginning and growing, the sixth stage.

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We Presbyterians use the term quite a lot:  Connectional…

Often we use that term and another in related (but not identical) ways:  Connectional… and Collegial.

Depending on who you ask, they relate to the ways we share values, systems, and meanings across the larger church.  For instance, worship in your home church this week, get on a plane and fly across the country, then visit another Presbyterian church as far away from your home as possible; chances are they will be quite similar - at least enough so that you could drop in from one to the other and pretty much know what church you were in, if not where.

And these "system" meanings of the word are good and helpful - as far as they go.  It’s the "next level" meaning of words like connectional that we got to live out this week.

A friend, who pastors a church in a town about 4 hours from here, called and left me a message the other night — then emailed the same message.  The email punched right through sitting in the Smelly Cat.  (Go figure why my phone was in the car in the church parking lot two blocks away.)  A member’s son-in-law had been involved in an accident at a campground near Carowinds and was air-lifted to CMC where he was undergoing surgery.

After a reply email and hasty good-byes (and we wonder why technology matters to ministry?), a follow up phone call in the car (wow, do I love the Toyota Prius’ bluetooth phone function that pipes someone’s voice through the JBL audio speakers!), I found myself in the Neuro-Sugical ICU waiting area looking for a family I don’t know who were waiting on word about a man I’ve never met.

And after visiting with the Gibson family for a while, having the honor of praying for them and their father (and husband and son), and a trip home, another email went out to over a hundred people - some on different continents - with a prayer concern for someone they will likely never meet.

I don’t know… but I have the sense that this is a far more important definition of "connectional" than anything doing with systems management, or church governmental structures.  It has given some of us here in Charlotte the opportunity to be a local "family" with some folks who need the support right now, and doing so because of the "connection" they have with a church back home in Walterboro, SC.  And it’s allowed us to ask people all over the country (in reality the world, as hard a concept as that is to wrap your head around), to pray for a need that we ourselves only know of because of the connection with others.  I sometimes wonder how much we are aware of what a precious miracle this is to have at the touch of a speed-dial button!

For all I know, this might happen all over and be just as common as mud.  But it doesn’t "feel" that way.  It feels holy and precious, and it’s something we should never take for granted.  I’m curious, from all those (few?) who read here regularly… how does this sense of "connectional" feel to you?  How does it play out in your life?

RPS

At The Portico, we pray with candles a lot — recognizing that lighting a candle is one of the oldest forms of prayer on Earth.

Tomorrow evening, we’ll light candles again.  But we’ll be doing it to thank God for individual people - and asking God to bless these people.

Most of them are people we’ll never meet.  But they served us (and well) this past week at the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)

The attached file here is an insert we’ll be using to look at some of the people we’ll be praying for as we pray for them.  If you’re interested, please help yourself to the file and do the same.  (And see if one of the "miracles" we are as Presbyterians is as apparent to you as it is to us!)  (NOTE:  It’s a pretty huge file, so it’ll take a while to download.)

More photos of these hard working servants of our church can be found here.

Peace,

RPS

Those of you not very familiar with our Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Order may not know the significance of that title.  Those of you who have been around the block with us for a while will most certainly recognize it as the "Fidelity and Chastity" Amendment from 1996.

Just a few minutes ago, we watched on the video feed from the General Assembly in San Jose, CA. while the G.A., by a vote of 54% in favor, to 45% opposed, passed a recommendation to all the Presbyteries (middle governing bodies) to delete that particular clause from our ordination standards.  (To take effect, a majority of our Presbyteries would have to vote in favor of this in the next year.)

While this particular issue (which really is about full inclusion of G.L.B.T. people in the life and work of the church, including holding office) has been around for 30 years, this feels like an opportunity to deal with it in a new way! (Hopefully, maybe?)

It might seem pedantic to many, but this could be a major change in our common life and mission.  (Which scares about as many as it elates.)  I’m personally hoping, praying, thinking maybe now, we can find the way to get beyond this one divisive issue that has many non-Presbyterians shaking their heads and wondering why we are the denomination that seems to have "sex on the brain" more than anyone except our Episcopalian sisters and brothers!

In hope of what may be to come.

RPS

The General Assembly of our Presbyterian Church (USA) is meeting now in San Jose’, CA.  For the first time there is a fair amount of blog coverage on the events our denomination is grappling with on our behalf.  It’s worth your time to check some of them out to see all three:

The GOOD! (Bruce will be a breath of fresh air over the next two years.)

The Bad

The Ugly (Read the second paragraph about the controversy between the words "one" and "a")

The "Usual"

Attitude Adjustment (Quit worrying about "the future" — looks like it’s in good hands!)

Take some time and catch up:  There may well be important things growing out of this week.

More Blogger links to G.A. stuff here.

RPS

A lot of "traditional" things happen in churches during June:  June Brides attempt to pull off the impossible with wedding plans that never go as intended (another post coming eventually!); Vacation Bible School posters pop up on church lawns all over the area (usually magic marker signs with the "Coca Cola" or "Sun Drop" logo showing up much better than the announcement itself); and of course, down here in the Bible Belt… Homecoming plans abound.

Here’s a question about that.  (And I am NOT just being contrary or sarcastic.)  With what some folks have told me before about "Homecoming" in church, I just don’t get it.  Maybe it’s not this way everywhere, but given the cultural background around here I see signs like this and wonder why churches do this to themselves.  Why, apart from the "We always do Homecoming in June" cultural bondage do we subject ourselves to things like this?  (VBS can be viewed as another one of these cultural icons and that’s probably another post as well!)

A church I once served talked about this one year.  Out of the blue at a Session meeting, one person asked, "Why don’t we do Homecoming like we are supposed to do?"  (That’s verbatim, by the way.)  I asked (in a good, moderatorial, objective way), "What is the point of a Homecoming Sunday?  What would we be trying to accomplish that supports our vision statement with one?"  (We had just spent six months hassling with a new vision and mission statement so it seemed appropriate to at least try to keep that momentum flowing.)  This was the response I got (One with history involved in this particular church, which I’ll explain):

"Because if we have Homecoming, all those people who have left might come back and decide to stay!"  (Stated with an incredulous glare at the Pastor that seemed more an idiot than some of his predecessors were.)

Now is a good time for the history:  A fair number of folks had left that church over a period of several years.  Many angry, some frustrated, some finding a "better deal" down the road (an incredible "consumer church" or "destination church" had opened up a few miles away), and some just drifting off during the period when the church seemed to be spinning its wheels with no sense of direction or unity.  Since that time, a huge amount of energy and toil had been spent trying to ascertain what new directions God might be calling the church towards.  And some really exciting results were beginning to be seen.  (And clearly being resisted by a small but effective group wishing for the "good old days.")

So here was my honest, sincere, yet somewhat naive’ question:  "Why would we WANT any of those folks to come back and, God forbid, stay?  Why would we willingly choose to go back to such a trying time in the history of this church?"  (Please feel free to figure out for yourself how that question went over!)

So… here’s my question to ponder:  If… there is any truth at all in concepts like Brian McLaren outlines in his book, "Everything Must Change"… then how do events like "Homecoming" or Vacation Bible School fit into that truth?  Are there other reasons in churches you have known for Homecoming Sundays?  (I’ve never experienced one other than what I’ve outlined above).  How do we address the cultural "sacred cows" in our midst if we wonder at all about the transformations needed to find fresh expressions of the Body of Christ?  How does a "Homecoming" work to invite those who have never known the church as "home"?  When we talk about how "everything" means everything, do we really have an inkling of the cost that statement demands?

Again, I’m not trying to be sarcastic (although I was opposed to the idea a while back and admit I just don’t see the point now).  I’m honestly curious:  Does anyone know of this type of thing working in a missional, emerging environment?

RPS

Or at least it seems like it.  In the past few weeks I’ve noticed a HUGE increase in people asking for food, money, or "help" (The euphemism a pastor hears quite often that usually translates into cash.)  I think it’s probably related to note that in the three different break-ins we’ve had at the church lately, twice the only thing taken were food and drinks.  Whether this is related to the economy, gas prices, lost jobs, or something else… I don’t have a clue.  But I admit to having to struggle over this. 

A police officer recently told me, "A homeless person is like a stray cat.  Once you feed him, he’ll hang around waiting for the next meal."  While this is obviously a cynical point of view, I wonder if the officer hadn’t arrived at it empirically; he lives in that world more than most of us do.  And there does seem to be something to be said about enabling destructive behavior, or simply participating in a dysfunctional co-dependency with people who need more than a few bucks handed over to expedite their going away.

Here’s the rub; and it’s one I struggle with every time I meet a struggling friend in our community:

 " {42} Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you." (Matthew 5:42)

How do we deal with something so plain and simple when we also hear a myriad of voices talking about "being realistic" or "responding appropriately" (All legitimate concerns)?  Is our mission check to the local food bank the end of the matter?  Where do we draw the line between hearing this verse above clearly and faithfully and enabling a pattern of distructive behavior that doesn’t really help someone in need and leaves us feeling used?  (Like when a panhandler "sees" a Christian coming and knows EXACTLY what words to use and is incredibly adept at "punching the right buttons"?)

Any ideas?  How do you put faith into this real life arena?  (And I think we’re going to continue seeing more, not less of this in the near future.)

RPS

I don’t know where the thought came from this morning; maybe I just turned the TV over to Fox News without noticing.  But yet another talking head was spouting off the formula how Islam = Terrorists = Evil = Enemy, etc.  Anyway, out of nowhere I thought of this.

Islam as a religion is somewhere between 600 and 800 years younger than Christianity. (Muhammed died in 632 C.E.; so assume some decades for "things" to coalesce like it did with Christianity between 35 C.E. and say approx. 100 C.E.)  I’m taking 800 years here simply because it "fits" my thinking.  What were "we" (Christianity) like 800 years ago?  Anyone remember those things called Crusades?  Is there a striking parallel between communal Christian Behavior then and what we see in a more "adolescent" religion than ours today?

For that matter, take Judaism somewhere like 800 to 1,000 years after it became somewhat institutionalized.  What behavioral aspects do we see in the Old Testament that might roughly fit into that timeline?  (Like Jericho, Sela, Ai, Hebron, Hazor, etc.?)

Makes me wonder… about a lot of things.  Should we perhaps see the historical "log in our own eye" before talking too loud?  And are we going to have to wait another 300 years or so before anything much changes in our current world?

Just wondering.

Confession… for years I’ve read the letters to the Editor section of the local paper.  Quite often didn’t agree with much of anything  I read, and noticed how the same names often kept appearing regardless of subject; but found it often helped get a "feel" for the community.  (Like being a fairly liberal and progressive person living in one of the "red enclaves" of the country for a while… you know what I’m getting at, I hope.)

Our local paper here in Charlotte has begun to open comments on selected articles in the online version, and it’s become a type of instant letter to the Editor it seems.  So sometimes I read them.  That’s what scares me.

Is it just me, or are we beginning to see a "new" decline in civility in our culture?  (I say "new" here because some people, M. Scott Peck among them, believe that civility as a recognizable trait in our society died some years ago.)  I read many of the comments in the paper, or in the news columnist’s blogs (I wonder what Goggle, Blogger, et. al. think about all the for profit newspeople using their free blogs to link from their papers?) and am amazed and profoundly disturbed at the incivility and meanness "we" seem to throw out towards anyone who disagrees with us.

THIS LINK is a perfect example:  A news article about a fairly controversial issue locally with a comments section.  Read a few of these comments and see if you perhaps agree with me.  (You might want to scroll down far enough to read the one posted from someone named "danimal".)

Yes, of course, you can see some of the same names popping up time and again.  But I think about this:  Here in our town we have an inordinate amount of churches - some people estimate that there are over 700 in the Charlotte area alone (not counting outlying towns.)  So, we’re not like, say, Seattle in this regard.  And I can’t help but wondering, are some of these folks spewing out such venom in public like this the same folks that flock into their home church on Sunday morning?  I can’t help but think there must be some overlap here.  And my next thought is, O Lord… what does that "say" about the faith we "say" we want our lives to witness to?  (Kind of like how I wondered listening to Morris King, a "gentleman" NPR interviewed in West Virginia following the democratic primary this past Tuesday:  "You know I didn’t vote for no colored, don’t ‘cha?"  (Listen to this Program HERE.) Is Mr. King going to be in the "family pew" this coming Sunday morning?  Singing hymns about loving his neighbor without a second thought to the profoundly un-Christian words he casually threw out on nationwide radio this past week? (Follow up note:  I wouldn’t usually write something like this and include a real name, but since some folks were free enough to give their names in the NPR interview I decided to do the same.)

Like I asked:  Is this just me in a "dark" mood, or do you see this "problem" as well?  Sometimes I think we talk about "fixing the church" as if we’ve got a light bulb or two burned out, when we should be calling for everyone to "man the lifeboats."

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I find it interesting, fascinating, puzzling… the way some of us are going to mark Pentecost this year.  (I’m not talking about the ongoing conversation in some circles about how much Pentecost and how much Mother’s Day should be in the "mix" this year;  My respect for my own, and other mothers notwithstanding, I don’t care about that argument!  If someone wants a "Hallmark Worship" experience tomorrow morning, they’d best attend another church!)

What intrigues me is all the "birthday party" motif we tend to use year after year.  And here’s why that intrigues me:  Pentecost is about our perception of the Holy Spirit in our midst; guiding us, leading us, moving us, transforming us.  A question worth pondering:  When have you ever perceived the Holy Spirit’s presence?  As you remember some experience or time, ask another quesion:  Was that experience joyful and happy, like the atmosphere at a birthday party?  Or did you, like me, experience that presence with a mixture of awe and terror, leaving you shaking and wondering where the nearest bathroom was?

Why do we tend to trivialize something this important?  (Or do we?)  That’s what I’m thinking about this weekend, and what I plan to preach tomorrow.  If you want to read a sermon on this, here it is below.

What are your perceptions or thoughts about this?

Rodger Sellers

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