Kim Davis - Time to move on

When Kim Davis, Rowan County (KY) Clerk, defied nothing less than the United States Supreme Court by declaring that she will not issue marriage licenses to same-gender couples because she must "follow God's law" rather than United States laws, she raised an interesting point.  To be sure, my emotional reaction is to dismiss her out of hand.  After all, as a self-identified evangelical Christian (she's a member of an Apostolic Christian church), she is taking this stand presumably in defense of biblical views of marriage, even though she's been married four times.  Hmmm...

Nevertheless, there is a possible dilemma here on a broader scale.  I don't believe that her actions are reflective of a First Amendment issue.  After all, the law is not "establishing religion" here, nor is it prohibiting Ms. Davis' "free exercise (of religion) thereof."  She is certainly free to express her religious beliefs (another First Amendment right).  But the right to employment, and especially in a job working as a government official, means that you have responsibilities to carry out the functions of your job.  In this case, that primarily revolves around the issuance of marriage licenses.  It's not a job that she has to take.  Even within government, there would be thousands of other jobs she could do that would not "violate her religious values" in the way that she feels her current job requires.  Furthermore, one would be hard pressed to raise the cry of "persecution," when one is sharing the stage (literally) with candidates who are running for election as President of the United States!

Are there jobs that come into conflict with one's religious beliefs, or, really, with one's moral principles, religious or not?  Certainly.  Personally, I would not be able to serve in the military in a combat role.  I have this thing about WWJD... Would Jesus kill other people in defense of a nation?  I don't believe so.  However, I know many, many good and faithful Christians who proudly serve our nation as members of the military.  It's just not something I could do.  Am I therefore being persecuted?  Am I being denied the opportunity to express my religious convictions?  Are my constitutionally protected rights being violated?  Of course not!  I simply realize that in order to be faithful and true to the things I believe, there automatically are some jobs I would not be able, in good conscience, to accept.

I give thanks to God for people who stand up for their beliefs.  I even rise to defend their right to speak out about values they passionately hold.  However, Ms. Davis' "15 minutes of fame" ran out a long time ago.  It's time for the country to move on to things that are truly important.  I hope that Ms. Davis can move on with her life as well.

Why I "unfriended" a "friend"

I "unfriended" someone on Facebook this week.  As with many "friends," I had known this individual and worked and worshiped with him a few times over the past several years, but he was not what I consider a true friend.  Facebook simply doesn't have an "acquaintance" tag.

This man was a committed Presbyterian, and had been very active in the annual, summer gatherings known as Synod School in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies.  Imagine my shock, surprise, and, actually, revulsion, when I saw that he posted this saying on his wall:  "Everything I needed to know about Islam I learned in five minutes on Sept. 11, 2001."  I trust you understand my immediate, visceral reaction.  Like so many - TOO many - others, this man painted every Muslim, along with some 1400 years of Islamic history and tradition, by the actions of a few fanatics.

Just imagine if folks said the following:

·      "Everything I needed to know about Christianity I learned by studying the barbarity of the Crusades."

·      "Everything I needed to know about the Roman Catholic Church I learned by studying medieval popes."

·      "Everything I needed to know about Calvinism I learned when I read this sentence he wrote: 'I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness – nay, I have never found common sense in any Jew.'"

·      "Everything I needed to know about the Church in the United States I learned by watching 'good Christians,' most in white sheets, lynch black people."

A dear friend of mine, now deceased, used to say that there are "quotable moments" in people's lives... times or occasions or events by which you will be remembered.  Let's not give anyone who is a guest in one of our congregations, or who watches us pray in public, or who hears our affirmations of faith in the Risen Christ, any reason to question the veracity of what we believe and the One in whom we place our trust.  And, needless to say, let us never, ever view entire groups of people based on the actions of a few.

The downsides of tribalism

Several years ago I "tuned in" to a webinar given by Carol Howard Merritt that was offered by the Alban Institute.  It was based on her then-recent work, and was entitled "Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation."  It was about the relationship of the Church with the younger generation.  Some of the interesting - and, I confess, troubling - things she cited:

·      Six million young adults have left the institutional church in the past several years.

·      Part of the financial realities of this generation is that many students feel fortunate if they come out of their undergraduate education with only $50,000 in indebtedness.

·      18% of college students have never been inside a church!

·      Young adults do not read newspapers.  They get all of their news and information online.

·      How do young adults first learn about a congregation?  Websites!  If you have any money to put into anything, invest it in your website.

Carol said that "'Tribe' is a word that refers to a sub-culture, and that is an apt definition of this generation of young people and young adults."  She is correct, and her observations are ones that we need to consider seriously as we strive to nurture faith in Christ with yet another new generation of the human family.

"Tribes" always have been important to us human beings.  Tribes have helped develop our sense of identity.  Tribes have met our need for belonging.  Tribes have been the cultural unit where teaching and learning take place, where things that are valued are passed on to the next generation.

Many people probably think of native peoples when they think of tribes.  In our area folks most likely think of the Onondaga peoples, or of the Haudenosaunee, sometimes referred to as the Iroquois Confederacy, or Six Nations.

But there are lots of "tribes" in our society, in our culture, in our world, aren't there?  Sociologists often refer to urban gangs as tribes - places where values are taught (albeit not ones that many of us would support!), where people have a sense of belonging, where community exists (even if it is not healthy community).  Folks in the military have a sense of belonging to a "tribe," even if they wouldn't use that word.  In a real way, I think, congregations are tribes.

The challenge for tribes is to be aware of when they cross over into being tribal. In other words, what can start as a group that offers community, purpose, nurture, and belonging, can easily become a group that sees itself as self-sufficient, all-encompassing, and which then alienates others...or at least is not a place of welcome to those outside of the "tribe."

I think that part of the increasingly-divisive and adversarial fighting that goes on in our world and in our society is due to a misguided and destructive sense of tribalism.  If you're a Republican, you want to do anything you can to thwart Democratic initiatives in governing...and vice versa.  If you're a "real" American, you disdain folks who are foreigners.  "Pro-life" extremists view pro-choice folks as evil "baby killers."  And on and on and on.  The gridlock in government is, I believe, due to tribalism in the worst sense of the word.  ISIS is tribalism run amuck.  Fundamentalists - whether Christian or Muslim or Jewish or Hindu or Buddhist or whatever - draw their tribal circles close, with clearly-defined boundaries, and an absolute sense of who's in their circle and who isn't...and anyone who isn't is "the enemy."

So what is it that the Church can offer in this divided, divisive, and contentious climate in which we find ourselves living?  I believe that the Church can offer a sense of welcome.  We might be one of the very few places around where people can come together from across the spiritual, political, and theological divides and join as one body in worship and service.  I believe that the Church can offer a sense of hope.  We Calvinists strongly affirm the fallen nature of us human beings.  However, we also strongly affirm God's providence and God's overarching love and grace.  I believe the Church can offer a sense of support.  People need to know that they are not alone, that others have walked the same or similar path in life, that they don't need to live with a feeling of being isolated and alienated.

Our society desperately needs a place that is not contentious, that is not divisive, that does not label people and judge them by particular stances they take.  Our society desperately needs a place of welcome, a place of hope, a place of support and nurture.  Our society desperately needs a place that can truly be a sanctuary from the hurt and despair and alienation that seems to be the norm of our day. 

It is not an accident that our worship spaces are called sanctuaries.

May they continue to be just that.

Worship that is EPIC - thoughts from Rodger Nishioka

Last week, I attended the Big Tent Event in Knoxville, TN.  This biennial gathering was first offered after the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church moved from annual meetings to meeting every other year.  The Big Tent Event thus sprung up on the "off" years from G.A.

In my column last week in Presbytery Matters, I noted some of the things I would be attending.  What I want to share with you in this column is some of the insights of the Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka in the workshop he offered on "Ministries Equipping Leaders for Discipleship and Evangelism."  Rodger is Associate Professor for Christian Education at Columbia Theological Seminary in the Atlanta area.  Rodger's current interest and passion is studying the relationship of youth and young adults with the Presbyterian Church.  The things he shared were both insightful and challenging.

Dr. Nishioka said that we have been a "culture of the page."  Particularly for Presbyterians, we are a people of books:  the Bible, the Book of Order, the Book of Confessions, our hymnals, the Book of Common Worship, etc.  We do "book" well, Rodger said.  What we need to be aware of, however, is that today we live in the midst of a "culture of the screen."  Particularly for the youth and young adults in our society, if something isn't accessible on the screen (laptop, smart phone, tablet, etc.) then they are not engaged.  In terms of worship, this means more than just putting words up on a screen via a PowerPoint or KeyNote presentation.  It means how we communicate, how we invite people to engage and interact during worship and other events.  In other words, it is nothing short of a cultural shift.

Rodger then spent time talking particularly about worship and what younger folks are seeking in worship.  He gave us an acronym (we all love our acronyms, don't we?) that outlined what he learned from countless hours in conversations with millennial folks and other youth.  From those conversations, he learned that younger folks are looking for these things when they come together for worship:

·      Experiential - Young folks don't just want to hear "about" God; they want the chance to actually "experience" the presence of the Holy One in our midst.  That means, among other things, that worship services must be...

·      Participatory - Worship is not about sitting around being entertained.  How can we engage people as active participants in worship?  What about opportunities for dialogue during worship?  What would it look like to offer anyone and everyone the chance to pray, to reflect on Scripture, to share stories of faith and wonder and love and doubt and hurt and hope?  How can we engage people's senses...which leads to the fact that worship must be...

·      Imagistic - Let's not just engage our brains in worship services.  Let's engage our sense of sight...of sounds...of taste...of smell.  For example, why not put a breadmaker in the sanctuary and have the aroma of bread baking when people prepare to celebrate Communion?  And how can we use images in ways that will be...

·      Communal - The common thing Rodger hears from youth and young adults is that they feel isolated and alone, despite all the ways in which they are connected via social media.  The Church is the one place where we have not just the opportunity but the mandate to offer a sense of community to people in need, to people who feel isolated, to people who want to feel united with others in common worship and service to other.

Worship can, and should, be EPIC:  experiential, participatory, imagistic, and communal.  How can we do these kinds of things, and then how can we get the word out so that youth and young adults know that they will be truly and fully welcomed when they walk through the doors of our churches?  This is a huge challenge, don't you agree?  But the needs are great, and the opportunity to meet those needs is right in front of us.  So how will we respond?

You just never know where something might end up - social media analytics and more

Electronic means of communications - through emails, Skype, FaceTime, or any social media - are amazing.  Most of us take them so much for granted, despite the fact that all of this is still so relatively new.  Furthermore, the ways in which e-news can get distributed, forwarded, passed on, etc. is astounding in the breadth of its reach.  People literally around the world might receive this email when they would never, ever have been able to get a printed newsletter that gets sent out via bulk mail from the faithful ol' USPS.

Another amazing thing to me about all of this is that so many of the companies that provide social media and marketing will let you find out just how widespread these kinds of efforts go.  They provide what is called "analytics," and they can spell out in minute detail most any information you'd like to know about things you post and send out.  Two months ago, in my report to the Leadership Team at their monthly meeting, I reported the results of the analytics from our outreach via Twitter, Facebook, and Constant Contact.  You, too, might be interested in these results...

1.     Twitter (@CayugaSyracuseP)

a.     We currently have 171 followers.

b.     We generated 2,507 “impressions” during April from just 52 tweets.  An impression is any time a tweet has been delivered to the Twitter stream of a particular account.  In other words, any time a tweet is sent to a follower, referred to in someone else’s tweet, or when a tweet has been retweeted.

c.     We have generated a total of 1,464 tweets during the past year.

2.     Facebook (Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse)

a.     A total of 137 people have “liked” our FB page.

b.     The highest post in the past week reached a total of 283 people, and in the past month the highest reached 319 people.

c.     66% of our “fans” are women, 31% are men (which means I’m not sure what happened to the other 3%!).

d.     The number of fans by age group are:

                                               i.     36% between 55-64.

                                             ii.     21% over 65.

                                            iii.     18% between 45-54.

                                            iv.     13% between 35-44.

                                             v.     7% between 25-34.

                                            vi.     2% between 18-24.

                                          vii.     0% under the age of 17.

e.     By far the majority of our fans live in New York, but we do have fans from across the country (17 other states), as well as two from the United Kingdom.

f.      I recently added ruling elder Charlie Smith as a Page Administrator on our account.

3.     Constant Contact

a.     We have 518 active contacts.

b.     We average on “open” rate of right at 50% for most of our emails, although special mailings have had an open rate of as high as 70%.  The “industry average” for “religious organizations” that use Constant Contact is just over 20%.

c.     The “click” rate (when someone clicks a link in an email) varies between 10-30%.  The industry average is 10%.

This is really the same for life in general, isn't it?  You never know when words that you say will change someone's life.  You never know who's watching when you reach with compassion to help someone on the street or in a store...or when you get mad at a clerk at Wegman's.  We always are "on display," and, as Christians, we should be careful that we always live in ways that reflect the words we say we believe.  You never know what far-reaching effects these things might have.

A radical welcome to church

Disclaimer... I'm sharing the below from having seen it many times in the Sunday bulletin of First Presbyterian Church in Hudson Falls, NY, where our presbytery member, Roger Martin, served as pastor years ago, and where my son, Michael Plank, now is the pastor.  (Yes, the Presbyterian Church really is a small circle, isn't it?)  It reminded me of the importance of asking ourselves how open we really are to people coming to worship in our congregations...

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, queer, trans, filthy rich, dirt poor, o no habla ingles.  We extend a special welcome to those who are crying newborns, hyperactive children, skinny as a rail, or could afford to lose a few pounds.

We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or you can't carry a tune in a bucket.  You're welcome here if you're "just browsing," just woke up, or just got out of jail.  We don't carry if you're a cradle Presbyterian or have never heard the word "Presbyterian" before today, haven't been to church in decades, and don't call yourself a Christian.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to kids who are growing up too fast.  We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, carnivores, and junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery and those who are still addicted.  We welcome you if you're having problems or you're down in the dumps or if you don't like organized religion.  We've been there, too.

If you blew all your offering money at the race track, you're welcome here.  We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, those who work too hard, those who don't work, those who can't spell, or those who are here because Grandma is in town and she wanted to go to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced, or both.  We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, those who had religion shoved down their throats as a kid, or you who got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. 

We welcome tourists, seekers, doubters, hearts of stone, bleeding hearts, and you

Words that shape our reality

We've all heard the saying since were children:

Sticks and stones may break my bones,

but words will never hurt me.

You know what?  The people who quoted that supposed axiom to us lied.  That's right. They lied...right to our faces.  Now I'm sure they didn't think they were lying. I'm sure that they felt they were trying to toughen us up, to let us know that what other kids say to us on the playground should just bounce right off of us.  But the sad truth of the matter - the real truth of the matter - is that words DO impact us.  Words shape our reality of who we are, of the world in which we live, of the nature of our relationships with family and friends.

If a young girl is told she's ugly, or too fat, or not worth as much as a boy, it should be no surprise to us that she grows up to marry someone who is abusive...someone who continues to tell her the "truths" that she's been told all her life.

If a young boy is told he's weak, not fast enough, not good enough, or too stupid, it should be no surprise to us that he grows up and tries "looking for love in all the wrong places" as the song goes, or in all the wrong ways, or with all the wrong people.

What's true for individuals is just as true for congregations.  A church that has the reputation of being a "clergy killer" will, more often than not, live into that reality, and will work through a whole string of short-term pastoral relationships, most of which end badly.  A church that has the reputation of being innovative in worship and risk-taking in mission involvement will, more often than not, continue to live "on the edge," always willing to try new things, new ways, new avenues of service.

And what is true for individuals and for congregations is just as true for presbyteries. Since even before coming here two years ago, I heard things such as:

·      That presbytery is dysfunctional.

·      People don't trust each other in that presbytery.

·      Meetings can devolve into chaos, and folks are mean to each other even on the floor of Presbytery.

As with most descriptive phrases that people use about others, there are kernels of truth in the above statements.  I've seen evidence of times and places where those things have happened, and heard stories from people who have been deeply hurt by what others have done and said in our Presbytery.  However, I've learned over the years that we do not have to be enslaved by things we have experienced and been told in the past.  We have a choice in how we move forward.  We ALWAYS have a choice.

Five years ago this past Wednesday I made the decision to have gastric bypass surgery. Other than marrying the amazing woman I did, this was the best and most life-changing decision I've ever made.  Now, it's not magic.  As one of my doctors told me before surgery, "This surgery is just a tool.  It's the best tool we have at our disposal, but it's just a tool."  Each day I still make the decision to change the "tapes" I lived with and heard most of my life.  Each day I try to remember that I have a choice in how I move forward.

So, if this Presbytery isn't what you need, then step up and change things.  If you've experienced hurt here, go and seek and/or offer forgiveness; be healed and move on, rather than holding on and nursing that hurt.  If the Presbytery "isn't what it used to be" back in whatever "good ol' days" you remember, then what needs to happen to make this a healthy, exciting, nurturing place to be, and how can you contribute to the needed movement of things in those directions?

Despite some of the things I'd heard about this Presbytery that might have discouraged me from considering a call from God to come here, there are other things I heard and observed:

·      This Presbytery is willing to step out in faith and try a new way of being a Presbytery.

·      The initial people I met with during the two days of interviews when I first came here were, without exception, people of integrity, of compassion, of faith, of commitment, of vision.

·      During the two Presbytery meetings this past May, people handled major issues well, were able to express differing viewpoints while maintaining good order, and even volunteered in different ways to help us move forward.

We can continue to wring our hands and repeat the tired old mantras: we're dysfunctional, we're mean, we don't trust each other.  Or we can choose different ways to view ourselves.  And how we view ourselves, and the words we use to describe who we are and how we function together as a community of Christ's disciples, will continue to mold and shape how we live with each other as followers of Jesus and sisters and brothers of one another.

We have a choice in how we move forward.  We ALWAYS have a choice.