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Rush to Judgment

We all use judgment every day as we make and enact decisions, form and express opinions, determine and embrace truth. Judgment is a process as well as the actions we take on the basis of the outcome of that process.

Here's the Webster's definition of judgment:

The process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing; an opinion or estimate so formed; the capacity for judging; DISCERNMENT; the exercise of this capacity; a proposition stating something believed or asserted.

Most of us make reasonably good judgments most of the time. Problems arise when our judgments are faulty, wrong, or premature. It's the premature ones that are on my mind today.

When we reach a judgment with too little discernment or investigation, we speak or act out on the basis of ignorance. The position we have formed is not correctly oriented toward reality or is lacking in factual basis. A rush to judgment is often referred to as prejudice, especially when it involves an individual or group of individuals. It is harmful to relationships when opinions toward other people are formed and expressed in ways that discredit, disrespect, or demean them. Something similar happens when our premature judgment has to do with a policy or viewpoint. And, when prejudice involves both policies and the people who espouse or enact them, the consequences can be serious.

In a recent television series, a character made a statement that goes something like this: "Eternal ignorance is a result of failure to investigate." I asked my Facebook network if anyone knew the origin of the statement, because it sounded like a quotation to me. One of my friends shared a quotation from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance – that principle is contempt prior to investigation."

The concept expressed in that statement has become a part of the A.A. way of life. It is often attributed to Herbert Spencer, although others believe it is derived from the writings of 18th Century British theologian William Paley.

Someone I once knew described prejudice as "a blend of arrogance and ignorance." When I asked him to expand on that for me, he said, "it's when you are proud of what you don't know."

We owe it to our neighbors, whom we are called to love, to avoid rushing to judgment and to resist the primitive human inclination toward prejudice. Prejudging others is behavior that is contrary to the vow we have taken in the Baptismal Covenant:

Q: Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

A: I will, with God's help.

Overcoming the tendency to rush to judgment has to be intentional. Jesus offered some sound wisdom on the matter:

"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye', while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye." – Matthew 7:1-5

Stephen Covey puts it this way in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

It is a simple principle. Yet our own experience and observation tells us it is difficult to apply. That's why our answer is, "I will, with God's help." If we could accomplish it on our own, we wouldn't need God. Prejudice is an offense against God because it is harmful to others and stems from a disregard for God's influence in our lives. As such, it is practical atheism – we say we believe in God, but he just doesn't have much to do with how we live our lives.

Why is this on my mind today? There are probably several reasons, but the main reason is a man who recently told me the story of how he embraced the Christian faith under the influence of Christian missionaries in his African village. When he came to America to attend a university, he encountered racial prejudice. He was so shocked that he believed the missionaries had lied to him and he rejected his faith. I had the privilege of presenting him to the bishop for Confirmation last Sunday.

While the story has a happy ending, I have to wonder how many others have been so hurt by prejudice – any kind of prejudice – that they have rejected Christianity and will never return.

So, let us pray today for the humility to look beneath the surface of our own limited perceptions in our search for truth and that all people – not just those who govern – may be led to "wise decisions and right actions for the welfare and peace of the world."

April 29, 2010
Raising the Profile of the Church

Recently, I was asked how I would go about raising the profile of the Episcopal Church. It was a brief conversation and there was much I could have said that the time and context did not permit. There is much that can and should be said about the topic and I am certain much of it will apply to other churches just as well as the Episcopal Church. For starters…

Focus on the Mission. ~ This will require overcoming the tendency to dwell too much on internal issues. Differences over race, war, human sexuality, and the language of worship have consumed enormous amounts of time and spiritual energy for the last half-century. When those outside our Church think of us, what do you suppose comes to mind. If they are honest, they might tell us things that reflect an inward focus and a preoccupation with differences. What if, instead, they were to tell us about where they have seen us reaching out to others with the love of Christ? I encourage my congregation to turn facing the doors of the church at the end of the service. When the Deacon gives the dismissal near the Baptismal Font and the doors that lead out into the world, we are reminded of the Great Commission to "Go into all the world…" We came here today to be fed in Word and Sacrament so that we would be equipped and nourished to return to the good works God "has prepared for us to walk in." Those red doors we are so proud of open outward!

Stop apologizing, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. ~ Who wants to come to a Church whose members talk about how we don't have much Bible study, don't all look and think alike, or don't have many children or youth. We have much to offer! Our Church is grounded in a tradition that embraces diversity, exults in artistic expression, loves beautiful liturgy and music, encourages people to think and wonder, and regularly asks God to "make us faithful stewards of thy bounty." I once got so tired of hearing people apologize for being Episcopalians that I considered a campaign with bumper stickers and buttons that read "Unapologetically Episcopalian." Remember the Johnny Mercer song?

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene

Learn to live with change. ~ Here's how some people think of us. Q: How many Episcopalians does it take to change a lightbulb? A: Four. One to change the bulb and three to sit around talking about how much we liked the old one. We are a Church that has high anxiety about and strong resistance to change. That is difficult to reconcile with a faith whose founder's core message was metanoeite! – repent! Turn your life around! Change! Inability to change interferes with life in the kingdom of God. We also live in an era of rapid change. Organizations and individuals who lack agility and are slow to change are left behind. The needs and opportunities around us change daily and if our response does not change we will fail in our mission.

Tell the story. ~ Don't be shy about it! It is the greatest story ever told and it must find expression in your life and mine "wherever we may be." We had a Discovery Class last weekend to prepare several people for the Laying on of Hands when the Bishop comes to visit. One man was raised in Nigeria near the border with Cameroon. When he came to America, he gave up on Christianity because the he felt that the missionaries had lied to him by not telling him about racism in this country. When he came to Lawrence, he felt called back to Christianity but was not able to find a community of faith that was right for him. So, one day, he was thinking about his friend, Garth. He said, "I want a faith like Garth's. So, I asked Garth where he went to Church and he told me about Trinity Episcopal Church. I've been coming here ever since and now I want to belong." How did Garth tell the story? He lived it! Perhaps his approach is an illustration of St. Francis' admonition, "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

Be redundant. ~ In carrying out the mission and telling the story, we have to be redundant. That's not so hard to do when you realize the media available to us. Social networking, electronic newsletters, interactive blogs and websites, video recording, public appearances, interviews with broadcast and print media, and innovative use of our physical locations are but a few ways to spread the word. Some congregations with active environmental stewardship teams put the church emblem on reusable shopping bags with a message such as "Caring for God's Creation." We have to be more assertive about getting the message across. Jesus promised that we would do even greater works than he did. When we think of the abundance of resources at our disposal to do his work and deliver his redemptive and life giving message, we can see the truth of his promise.

Here's a video about "The Missional Church" that may help tie these thoughts together as we consider how to raise the profile of the Church.

One thing is for sure: no one of us can do it alone! The first thing Jesus did was to form a community and the last thing he did before his Ascension was to commission that community to continue his work in the world by involving others in it.

April 22, 2010
What in God’s Name is Going on Here?

That's the question The Rev. Dr. Rob Voyle asks whenever he walks into a church. Voyle is an Episcopal Priest, transitional minister, consultant, and leader of one of the top interim minister training programs. He explains the significance of his question in this description of the first time he asked it in a sermon at a church in transition:

What the question had raised in the minds of the people was the unintelligible gossip, or everything that was going on that was not in God's Name. What I am most interested in however is the real answer to the questions: Where is God at work in your midst? Where do you find God? Where do you see God acting in your life and in the lives of your fellow parishioners? Or in other words; What in God's name is going on here?

Voyle is a leader in the development and use of appreciative coaching in his work with clergy. He describes Appreciative Inquiry as a congregational development process:

Where the Church and its leaders are a mystery to be embraced rather than a problem to be solved. Our Purpose is to transform the Church from being a place of fear to a place of love, where duty and obligation become passion and delight, threat and intimidation are replaced by freedom and joy, and mediocrity is redeemed to competent excellence.

Appreciative Inquiry, founded by David Cooperrider, is the model Dr. Voyle uses in coaching clergy and congregational leaders. It is based on the idea of discovering what works and gives life to an organization and building on these life-giving properties.

This model follows a process of inquiry to discover people's best experience as a basis for imagining a future and designing the processes and structures that will make the imagined future a reality. In other words, it is a process that asks, "What in God's Name is going on here?" and concentrates on the discoveries in the lives of parishioners, rather than on problems or deficits. It is less prone to initiating a negative, blaming, and judgmental atmosphere. Or, in other words, it is NOT focused on what is going on that is NOT in God's Name!

Dr. Voyle describes Appreciative Inquiry as a five phase (5D) process:

1. Define: Committing to the Positive
2. Discover: Valuing the Best of What Is
3. Dream: Visioning the Ideal
4. Design: Dialoguing What Needs to Be
5. Deliver: Innovating What Will Be

Dr. Voyle is presenting a workshop, Appreciative Inquiry for Vestries and Church Leaders at several locations in the Midwest, including one sponsored by the Diocese of Kansas on April 24 at St. David's in Topeka. The Very Rev. Steve Lipscomb, Dean of Grace Cathedral in Topeka, says this workshop is designed for vestry members and church leaders of churches:

• wanting to discover their purpose and grow their sense of mission;
• in transition and are seeking new rectors;
• that need to embrace the future rather than run from the past; and
• that want to grow in the love and joy of being children of God.

We have been quietly applying Appreciative Inquiry during this time of transition at Trinity Church in Lawrence, Kansas. In contrast to the old model of interim ministry as maintaining the status quo between rectors, we have been discovering places in the life of the parish where people are encountering God and opening hearts and minds to a future grounded in those positive faith experiences of its people.

I find it all very hopeful! "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jer. 29:11).

April 15, 2010
Now The Green Blade Rises

Three weeks ago, the Lawn of Trinity Church in Lawrence, Kansas, where I'm serving as Interim, was covered with snow. Then, during Easter Week, the snow was gone and the grass is amazingly green. I'm reminded one of my favorite Easter hymns, Now the Green Blade Rises. Take a moment to read these wonderful words of new life, hope, and springtime:

Now the green blade rises from the buried grain,
Wheat that in the dark earth many years has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

In the grave they laid Him, Love Whom we had slain,
Thinking that He’d never wake to life again,
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

Up He sprang at Easter, like the risen grain,
He that for three days in the grave had lain;
Up from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

When our hearts are saddened, grieving or in pain,
By Your touch You call us back to life again;
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

We all know those seasons of life when things seem frozen, lifeless, hopeless, or entirely unfair. Easter is God's word of hope that life and love will triumph over all that. In the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we find that news most perfectly expressed.

May the Great Fifty Days of Easter be filled with reminders of that good news. And, beyond that, may we all be Easter People throughout the year, bringing that message of hope to others.

Enjoy this video of the Midland Lutheran College Choir singing Now the Green Blade Rises.

April 8, 2010
Dearly Anointed Ones

For many centuries, Easter was the principal date for Baptisms. The season of Lent was the time of preparation for baptismal candidates and a time for the faithful who are already baptized to remember their own formation as followers of the Risen Christ.

Following the the Sacrament of Holy Baptism with water and in the name of the Holy Trinity, the Bishop or Priest places a hand on the person's head and makes the sign of the cross with Chrism, a fragrant oil that has been blessed by the Bishop as Apostle and chief missionary of a diocese. During this action, the following words are said: "N., you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own for ever." And the people respond, "Amen."

We usually have plenty to say about the significance of water in Holy Baptism, but we seldom mention the significance of Chrism. Our English word Chrism is derived from the Greek word χρίσμα, meaning ointment or anointment. The same Greek word is the root for "Christ" and means "anointed one" – Jesus is the Anointed One.

The Episcopal Church liturgy for consecration of this oil provides a brief but helpful explanation. However, since the consecration of Chrism is reserved to the Bishop, the liturgy usually happens only once a year at a time when few people are present to witness it. Yesterday, at Grace Cathedral in Topeka, Bishop Wolfe presided over a service that included consecration of Chrism. We heard the Bishop give this introduction:

Dear Friends in Christ: In the beginning, the Spirit of God hovered over the creation; and, throughout history, God, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, he empowered his people to serve him. As a sign of that gift, the priests and kings of Israel were anointed with oil; and our Lord Jesus was himself anointed with the Holy Spirit at his Baptism as the Christ, God's own Messiah. At Baptism, Christians are likewise anointed by that same Spirit to empower them for God's service. Let us now set apart this oil to be the sign of that anointing.

The Bishop then placed a hand on the vessel of oil and prayed

Eternal Father, whose blessed Son was anointed by the
Holy Spirit to be the Savior and servant of all, we pray you to
consecrate this oil, that those who are sealed with it may
share in the royal priesthood of Jesus Christ; who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

So, in Holy Baptism our sins are washed away. We are included in God's covenant, joined with the Risen Christ, and given the seal (guarantee) of the Holy Spirit, who will continue to work in us. When we rise from the waters of Bapitsm, we receive an outward anointing that assures us of our inward anointing. This act establishes our true identity. We are royalty, the adopted sons and daughters of the Sovereign of the Universe! We are "marked as Christ's own for ever."

Living into that identity is an opportunity for daily epiphanies, dearly anointed ones.

April 1, 2010
When Prayer Seems Like a One-Way Conversation…

Have you ever felt like prayer is a one-way conversation? I have.

It occurs to me that it must seem like that to God quite often, with me doing all of the talking and none of the listening.

For that reason, I'm going to devote myself to listening prayer during Holy Week.

"My sheep hear my voice, and they know me, and they follow me." – Jesus (John 10:27)

March 26, 2010
March 25 ~ The Annunciation

The Annunciation
Luke 1:26-38

So much of our conversation regarding faith is centered on what each of us is doing about it. We are preoccupied with human liberty, some notion of “the individual,” and overly concerned with the subjective experience of God. We tend to want to play the leading role in the story, which we are writing, and we offer God a supporting role in a cast of thousands. We like to be in control of our universe.

The Annunciation is a reminder to me that what I'm doing about my faith is always in response to what God is first doing in my life, even when I'm not thinking of it in that way. God sent Gabriel to make an announcement to Mary about the role she would play in God's story, not to ask her to "volunteer."
Like Mary, we are often perplexed when God enters our lives uninvited and calls us to do what seems humanly impossible.

Reflect with me on that thought today in pursuit of a more God-centered and objective life of faith.

St. Augustine was aware of the divine initiative when he wrote, “Thou didst strike on my heart with Thy word and I loved Thee.” – from Confessions (397-398 A.D.) If you know anything about Augustine's life, you know he started out as a very self-absorbed and strong-willed individual. It would take a major epiphany to get his attention. God's undeserved grace knocked on Augustine's heart and by God's grace he was able to love God in response.

C.S. Lewis offers this perspective:

Christianity “does not tell of a human search for God at all, but of something done by God for, to, and about Man. And the way in which it is done is selective, undemocratic, to the highest degree. After the knowledge of God had been universally lost or obscured, one man from the whole earth (Abraham) is picked out. He is separated (miserably enough, we may suppose) from his natural surroundings, sent into a strange country, and made the ancestor of a nation who are to carry the knowledge of the true God. Within this nation there is further selection: some die in the desert, some remain behind in Babylon. There is further selection still. The process grows narrower and narrower, sharpens at last into one small bright point like the head of a spear. It is a Jewish girl at her prayers. All humanity (so far as concerns its redemption) has narrowed to that” (Chapter 14, Miracles:A Preliminary Study, Harper Collins, 2001).

And, because I love the poetry and music of our faith so much, this 19th Century hymn comes to mind:

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
he moved my soul to seek him, seeking me;
it was not I that found, O Savior true;
no, I was found of thee.

Thou didst reach forth thy hand and mine enfold;
I walked and sank not on the storm-vexed sea;
'twas not so much that I on thee took hold,
as thou, dear Lord, on me.

I find, I walk, I love, but oh, the whole
of love is but my answer, Lord, to thee;
for thou wert long beforehand with my soul,
always thou lovedst me.

Maybe today would be a good day to say with Mary, “Let it be with me according to your word.”

March 25, 2010
Eleven Proven Techniques to Help You Become Depressed and Miserable

I recently attended a workshop on reconciliation during which Episcopal priest and theologian Michael Battle introduced me to "Eleven Proven Techniques to Help You Become Depressed and Miserable" by Charles B. Beckert, Ph.D. I commend them to you as part of your Lenten self-examination.

1. Dwell on past mistakes and failures. This is most effective when you focus on things that cannot be changed.

2. Set unrealistic expectations for yourself and others. Expect perfection TODAY. This way you can guarantee failure.

3. Constantly compare yourself with others. To get the most out of this technique, compare your worst traits with their best.

4. Avoid all involvement and responsibility. It would be unwise to try something new and risk success and satisfaction.

5. Remain negative and problem oriented. Spend all the energy and effort you can criticizing and judging yourself and others. There are always faults to be found if you look long enough.

6. Allow yourself and others to be controlled by people and circumstances. This way you can dislike yourself for being weak and others for controlling you.

7. Internalize and personalize the problems of others. Believe that you are somehow to blame and should have the responsibility to make things right.

8. Don’t forgive yourself for anything. You deserve to be unhappy. To really suffer,hold long and deep grudges against yourself as further proof of your unworthiness.

9. Seek isolation and avoid contact with those who care about you. Be cautious and reject any help offered.

10.Do everything you can to please others. Believe that your personal value depends on their acceptance of you. You might find that compromising your standards and values for someone else will help you feel even worse.

11.Base your worth as a person on external things. View things as “How you look”(appearance), “What you can do” (performance), and “What you have”(possessions), as measures of your personal value. In other words, love yourself conditionally.

NOTE: If you really want to be unhappy and miserable, do several of these at the same time. Remember, the more of these you can make a part of your life, the worse you will feel.

If by chance you are not happy being depressed and miserable, turn each of these statements around and do just the opposite. You could discover miracle.

March 18, 2010
The Prodigal God

This year's Fourth Sunday in Lent readings from Joshua 5 and Luke 15 echo the words of Psalm 32: "Happy are those whose transgressions are forgiven" (Ps. 32:1).

Both Joshua 5 and Luke 15 deal with wandering. The nation wanders in the wilderness due to disobedience. The youngest son wanders in a different kind of wilderness, lost in disgrace. In both stories, the wanderers make their way back home out of the wilderness, but neither the nation nor the youngest son finds relief from the disgrace that has resulted from disobedience and wandering. It is only the absolution by the "other" (God in Joshua 5; the father in Luke 15) that redeems their past. "Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt." "This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!" Each absolution is followed by a feast. In both cases, the feast symbolizes that the shame of wandering has been replaced with the promise of a new life.

This is the story of God's love affair with us, isn't it? God gives us the world / we'd rather have another one / it turns out to be a pathetic substitute / we find ourselves lost, alone, ashamed / we try to find our way back into God's embrace / God finds us groping around in the darkness, welcomes us home, and throws a banquet.

Notice that the story of our redemption is not simply that we are saved, forgiven, absolved from something. We are saved, forgiven, absolved for something. Our liturgy conveys that message in many ways, but none so well as in the words of Absolution, "Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life."

After we receive the assurance of God's pardon, we are promised that God will also strengthen us in goodness and keep us in eternal life. Our life has a purpose and that purpose is clarified for us when we are in communion with God. That's because, as the collect for last Sunday puts it, "we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves."

To be "kept in eternal life" is to live in the kingdom of God, the realm where God is in charge and where a life giving feast is always waiting.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

The word "prodigal" means "spendthrift." In both stories of wandering
from Joshua and from Luke, it is God who is the true prodigal.

March 11, 2010
Fasting and Feasting During Lent

Here's a wonderful way to keep a Holy Lent, by William Arthur Ward:

    •    Fast from judging others; Feast on the Christ dwelling in them.
    •    Fast from emphasis on differences; Feast on the unity of life.
    •    Fast from apparent darkness; Feast on the reality of light.
    •    Fast from thoughts of illness; Feast on the healing power of God.
    •    Fast from words that pollute; Feast on phrases that purify.
    •    Fast from discontent; Feast on gratitude.
    •    Fast from anger; Feast on patience.
    •    Fast from pessimism; Feast on optimism.
    •    Fast from worry; Feast on divine order.
    •    Fast from complaining; Feast on appreciation.
    •    Fast from negatives; Feast on affirmatives.
    •    Fast from unrelenting pressures; Feast on unceasing prayer.
    •    Fast from hostility; Feast on non-resistance.
    •    Fast from bitterness; Feast on forgiveness.
    •    Fast from self-concern; Feast on compassion for others.
    •    Fast from personal anxiety; Feast on eternal truth.
    •    Fast from discouragements; Feast on hope.
    •    Fast from facts that depress; Feast on verities that uplift.
    •    Fast from lethargy; Feast on enthusiasm.
    •    Fast from thoughts that weaken; Feast on promises that inspire.
    •    Fast from shadows of sorrow; Feast on the sunlight of serenity.
    •    Fast from idle gossip; Feast on purposeful silence.
    •    Fast from problems that overwhelm; Feast on prayer that [strengthens].

—William Arthur Ward (American author, teacher and pastor, 1921-1994.)

March 7, 2010