Welcoming churches: Greeting Nones and Jedi knights

December 16, 2012 by

Costumed Star Wars fans in a public park. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.AMERICANS HAVE ALWAYS LOOKED TO GREAT BRITAIN for religious inspiration. Sure, millions of us also look to Rome, Jerusalem, Mecca and regions of Asia. But Britain shaped American culture from early pilgrims through the era of John Wesley, whose Methodist forces built the nation’s largest religious group prior to the Civil War. Later, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings took America by storm. In fact, Tolkien’s The Hobbit is predicted, now, to set a new world’s record for opening-weekend boxoffice receipts. Even “our” American Shakers, beloved for their furniture and music, were founded by Manchester-native Ann Lee. And that’s not even mentioning the huge influence of Anglicans like N.T. Wright and Desmond Tutu.

There’s so much to this British spiritual invasion! New Year’s Day marks the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation—which Steven Spielberg’s new movie rests proudly on the 16th president’s shoulders. But it was Bitish abolitionists in the 1700s, such as the visionary political activist Thomas Clarkson, who pioneered the course for eliminating slavery. (For more, read our story on the Lincoln-150 milestones about to sweep across the country in 2013.)

NEXT, from the sublime to the ridiculous … here is fresh news from Britain …

BRITISH SPIRITUAL INVASION:
JEDI KNIGHTS ARE COMING! (OR ARE THEY?)

A Star Wars fan in Brazil appears as Obi-Wan Kenobi.As silly as this next news item may sound, there is vital news here for anyone who cares about a congregation. In Part 1 of our coverage of Henry Brinton’s new book, The Welcoming Congregation, we reported on the need for congregations to seriously embrace biblical mandates for welcoming strangers. Henry talked more about this in Part 2 of our series. Still, most readers leap to the conclusion that welcoming strangers is a matter of good manners, handshakes and big smiles.

But there’s more: The “strangers” who walk into houses of worship these days may be stranger than ever: like the Jedi knights, inspired by the Star Wars saga. News this week out of Great Britain is that—in a newly released census of religious affiliations—Jedi once again rank as one of the UK’s largest minority religions. Ten years ago, the Jedi shocked British Christians—who still make up two thirds of the island nation’s population—by suddenly appearing in the census totals with 400,000 Jedi adherents. The knights claimed a higher ranking on the list of UK religions than Jewish, Sikh or Buddhist Brits.

Ten years have passed. Now, eager to see how the Jedi would fare in the latest report on religious affiliation, British newspapers were poised to file stories about this Star Wars-inspired spiritual movement. This time, far fewer Brits entered “Jedi” as their faith. The new census of Jedi adherents is down to just under 180,000. That still ranks Jedis among the largest religious minorities in the UK, but safely moves Jews, Sikhs and Buddhists higher on the list.

Are the Jedi seriously a religious group? If you Google British newspaper reports, some of the leading papers on Fleet Street are reporting typically dead-pan stories on the current state of the Jedi faith—but clearly a good number of these reporters are writing with tongues in their cheeks. To American eyes, a few of these stories might suggest there actually are Jedi congregations holding services. In fact, the whole Jedi campaign was started by British humanist groups a decade ago to protest the fact that an official government census question was continuing to ask about citizens’ religious preferences. A nationwide campaign was launched to take an amusing swipe at the census by entering “Jedi.” British census-takers say the trend caught on especially among young adults.

Is there actually a Jedi faith? Like almost everything in the religious realm—yes, inded, there are people around the world who claim to follow a Jedi creed. One group uses this prayer-like affirmation: “Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force.” Other Jedi adherents use other creeds. Mostly, however, occasional news stories about people who claim to follow the Jedi faith involve brushes with civil authorities. Every couple of years, a fully costumed Jedi gets into a scuffle in some UK business when the Jedi refuses to remove a hood or mask. A search of several journalism databases, this week, shows no recent coverage of actual Jedi ceremonies in any actual Jedi temples around the world.

If it’s so silly, then why does it matter? It matters because the Jedi protest—and the ongoing debate surrounding it in the UK—is a sign of just how outspoken religious skeptics have become in defending their right to be skeptics. Now across the UK, humanist, agnostic and atheist organizations are arguing that it was a mistake to encourage the Jedi protest ten years ago. These days, the consensus of UK skeptics seems to be: Instead of poking fun, they should urge people to freely stand up and identify themselves with whatever response to organized religion they may have.

On this side of the Atlantic, we may not have Jedi … but we have the rise of the Nones …

AMERICAN RELIGIOUS TRENDS:
RISE OF THE NONES AND THE QUEST FOR SPIRITUAL FREEDOM

CLICK this Pew chart to visit Pew’s website and find our more about this report.ReadTheSpirit has published interviews with dozens of leading experts on American religious life, including Harvey Cox and Kenda Creasy Dean and Diana Butler Bass, all arguing that religious leaders need to adapt to dramatic changes in the American mindset about religion. Since the beginning of human history, religion always has involved both a call to accept revealed traditions—and a desire to to engage in spiritual quests. These two strands (revelation and quest) form the DNA of what we call “religion.” In the current era of American culture, however, that passion for individual spiritual quests is dominant. Americans have strong opinions and questions. Religious leaders no longer have the authority to teach without interruption. Certainly, millions of us still accept revealed religious traditions—but the excitement of the individual spiritual quest is rising nationwide. From the realm of pop culture, many observers point out that the huge popularity of super-hero movies and even the new Hobbit holiday debut are signs of the ascendancy of the spiritual quest in American culture.

Want to be a welcoming congregation in America? Brace yourself. No, you won’t have to fend off costumed Jedi. But you will have to contend with opinionated “Nones” who may walk through your doors. “None” is the term widely used to identify the millions of Americans who answer polling questions about religious affiliation with the word: None. The Pew Forum’s latest tracking research on this phenomenon concludes, in part:

The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public—and a third of adults under 30—are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling. In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6% of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14%).

A new website to watch for insights into Nones: Journalists watching this historic transformation of the American religious landscape conclude that—like Britain and Europe before us—America is becoming more secular. However, even with that trend, American culture remains distinctively religious. We continue to rank with countries like Iran, Mexico and Pakistan in our religious intensity, compared with other nations surveyed around the world. New American spiritual trends are arising especially among the Nones. This month, longtime religion expert Martin Davis has opened a new website just to explore None phenomena. He calls his site NEW NONES: Tracking the Birth of New Faith in America.

Consider what the Pew data, Martin Davis and writers like Cox, Dean and Bass are arguing: This is not a time for people of faith to hang their heads and assume that the tide is shifting away from us. On the contrary! This is a time of vigorous spiritual seeking coast to coast. No, the strangers walking through our doorways are not arriving to humbly bend their knees and automatically accept whatever we are preaching. These new strangers may not come with light sabers flashing—but their questions and opinions and criticisms will, indeed, flash brightly in our congregations.

And that leads us back to Henry Brinton …

BECOMING A WELCOMING CONGREGATION:
FINAL ADVICE FROM HENRY BRINTON

Click the book cover to visit its Amazon page.In closing his book—and in closing our three-part series with Henry Brinton (see Part 1 and Part 2)—we are reminded of the ancient patriarch and matriarch Abraham and Sarah. Brinton writes: We should always begin by looking for the presence of the holy in the guests who come to our door, much as Abraham and Sarah welcomed three strangers and discovered that they were the Lord, in Genesis 18. These guests “can be both gift and challenge,” says Ana Maria Pineda, “human and divine.”

Then, a page later, Brinton writes: We have learned that practicing God’s welcome includes ongoing efforts to make worship accessible to guests. In the Iona Abbey, barriers to participation in services are broken down by the teaching of songs as the service begins; at Saddleback, guests are told that they can expect to enjoy the service and that no one will do anything to embarrass tehm. In all services, orders of worship should be projected clearly on screens or included in comprehensive printed bulletins that minimize the amount of juggling that a worshipper needs to do, especially in churches that use both hymnals and prayer books. The focus on the service should be on “creatiing comunity for that hour,” says Sam Lloyd, dean of the Washingotn National Catehdral.

That’s the kind of solid advice you can find throughout Brinton’s 133-page book. Right now, start talking about the ideas we have shared in this three-part series with Henry Brinton. Get a copy of his book and ask church leaders to discuss it over a series of weekends.

And: From all of of us at ReadTheSpirit—
have a Merry Christmas and a very Hopeful New Year!

NOTE: You are free to reproduce, repost or otherwise share this story. Just make sure to include this tagline in any sharing …

By ReadTheSpirit Editor David Crumm and …
Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion and cultural diversity.

Brian McLaren: Why did Jesus, Moses, Mohammed …

September 9, 2012 by

Click the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.Brian McLaren
marks 9/11
with a plea
for a new
‘Generosity’

In his 19th book, the prophetic evangelical author Brian McLaren is publishing his first interfaith book. It’s timed to appear on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that opened and still define this turbulent new century.

As you will read in our interview with McLaren later this week, the best-selling writer argues that this new book is far from the typical appeal for interfaith understanding that other writers are producing these days. While many of those books are noble, he has a different purpose in Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World. While smiling over the old joke in the main title—don’t miss that the book’s real focus lies in the sub-title about “Christian Identity.” This book is a passionate appeal to enrich Christian appreciation of cross-cultural relationships by doing some thorough house cleaning within Christianity itself. In this book, Brian is primarily writing to the Christians who comprise a majority of the American population.

FROM OUR INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN (coming later this week in ReadTheSpirit): Brian says, in answer to a question in the interview …
One of the biggest insights that came to me, as I was researching this book, is the realization that it’s not our differences that are keeping us apart. What’s keeping us apart is something we actually have in common: The way we often try to build our own identity through hostility. Leaders build loyalty among “us” by building hostility toward “them.” It won’t work to simply rush off into interfaith dialogue until we deal with some of the deep work within our own identity. We won’t get far in our relationships with others until we deal with some of the often hidden ways we have defined ourselves through our hostility.

Perhaps we can see this problem more easily in the political campaign going on right now. If you took away hostility toward Democrats, I’m not sure how much substance is left in the Republican Party. And, if you took away hostility toward Republicans, I don’t know how much substance there is in the Democratic Party. The same problem exists in our religious communities.

Read the entire interview with Brian McLaren, later this week.

A Return to Brian McLaren’s ‘Generous Orthodoxy’

Reviewing Brian McLaren’s new book as Editor of ReadTheSpirit, I was struck immediately by the return this book represents to themes that he raised in his 2004 cross-over book: A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I am a missional, evangelical, post-Protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic/contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, incarnational, depressed-yet-hopeful, emergent, unfinished Christian.

In addition to setting a record for longest sub-title on the cover of a spiritual book, Brian staked out the term “Generous” for what he also has described since 2004 as “harmony,” “unity” and “civility.” McLaren urges people to sit down together across a table, to eat together and to begin forming a good-spirited community—rather than flashing doctrinal swords. Such words of wisdom echo what we are hearing from bright young Christian writers like Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, these days.

It was McLaren’s “Generous” book that turned heads nationally among non-evangelicals. As a religion newswriter, at that time based at the Detroit Free Press, “Generous” was the first Brian McLaren book that I actually read cover to cover. It was the first McLaren book that I found my newspaper readers asking me about and telling me that they were reading themselves. McLaren was deliberately making a provocative play on words in selecting “Generous” as his mantra. Evangelicals always have set the high mark among Christians for giving money and sweat equity to missions—they always excel (and even boast) about that kind of “generosity.” But, Brian was calling for us to focus on a distinctly different meaning of that word. He also was chiding his fellow evangelicals to become truly generous.

In continuing to use the term “generous,” McLaren is not talking about drumming up dollars for the collection plate. He’s talking about what other writers today are begining to call “kindness” and “hospitality.” In his new book, he passionately describes a great “Reformulation” he sees possibly unfolding within Christianity—neither a rejection of orthodoxy nor a rejection of the Protestant Reformation—but a rethinking and a renewed appreciation of what core Christian beliefs truly mean in light of God’s diverse world.

McLaren: ‘Could doctrines become healing teachings?’

McLaren writes in the new book: Could it be that our core doctrines are even more wonderful and challenging than we previously imagined, asking us not simply to assent to them in the presence of our fellow assenters, but to practice them in relationships with those who don’t hold them? Could our core doctrines in this way become “healing teachings” intended to diagnose and heal our distorted and hostile identities—restoring a strong and benevolent identity, and unleashing in us a joyful desire to converse and eat with the other? Could our core teachings be shared, not as ultimata (Believe or die!) but as gifts (Here’s how we see things, and here’s what that does for us— )?

McLaren: ‘We must provide lots of support’

This is not an easy task, McLaren argues in the new book. He writes that, if Christians take his challenge seriously, they must face up to problems in traditional forms of liturgy, preaching and missional outreach. Late in the book he writes: Because the cost of embracing a strong and benevolent Christian identity is so high, we must provide lots of support for those who respond—support through fellowship, support through teaching (knowledge) and training (know-how), support through ritual and symbol, support through guided practice and mentoring. But since we are still young and inexperienced in this new identity, we have a long way to go in learning how to provide this support, and each of us must take whatever little we have learned and pass it on to others, even as we look for others who can pass more on to us.

McLaren: ‘What will we discover in that crossing?’

In the final pages, McLaren writes: So, imagine then, Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed crossing the road to encounter one another. Imagine us following them. What will we discover together in that crossing? Surely, it will be holy and humbling in that sacred space. Surely there will be joy, grace, and peace. Surely justice, truth and love. We will find hospitality there, not hostility, and friendship, not fear, and it will be good—good for our own well-being, good for the poor and forgotten, good for our grandchildren’s grandchildren, and good even for the birds of the air and the flowers in the meadow and the fish out at sea. “This is very good,” God will say. And we will say, “Amen.”

Read the entire interview with Brian McLaren, later this week.

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Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion and cultural diversity.

Southern Baptists confront racism (why we all should care)

June 13, 2012 by

As longtime journalists covering religion in America, we haven’t seen this many Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) headlines in decades! The Washington Post—and many other newspapers—just published a report on the expected election of the Rev. Fred Luter jr. to head the 16-million-member denomination. The Post’s headline is: “Southern Baptists set to elect 1st black president for convention with roots in slavery.”

Is this just window dressing? Is this the cynical elevation of an African-American front man way too late in the march toward diversity? Our answer to that question: No, not this time! The SBC, now chastened by an erosion in membership over the past decade, finally is getting serious about shedding its pro-slavery and anti-diversity heritage. The other headlines racing across the nation’s newspapers focus on the downfall of the once-powerful Richard Land—known for many years as the SBC’s political muscle. As the LA Times headline puts it: “Southern Baptist host loses radio show over Trayvon Martin remarks.”

As the SBC convention looms in New Orleans on June 19-20, we invited the nation’s most influential young SBC voice—Jonathan Merritt, an author and the son of a former SBC president—to analyze what he sees unfolding.

‘Heart Change’
Southern Baptist
Convention’s
New Era

By Jonathan Merritt

The Southern Baptist Convention is famous for making headlines, but this one we can all be proud of. Next week, they will elect their first African-American president in the Rev. Fred Luter Jr. of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, LA.

The significance of this event cannot be overstated given the Southern Baptist Convention’s history. The denomination—currently America’s largest Protestant denomination—was founded over the issue of slavery. The first Southern Baptist churches split from northern Baptists in 1845 due to their desire to appoint slaveholders as missionaries.

Less than twenty years later, the issue of slavery was all but settled in America but Southern Baptists continued to struggle with matters of race. Preachers in the denomination vocally opposed the civil rights movement and supported Jim Crow laws. In 1956, Texas pastor W.A. Criswell, still considered a paragon among contemporary Southern Baptists, argued before a joint session of the South Carolina legislature that de-segregation was un-Christian.

The denomination, however, has tried to reverse course in recent years beginning with their 1989 “Resolution on Racism.” The statement asserted, “Southern Baptists have not always clearly stood for racial justice and equality.” This year at their annual gathering, a top-level task force will recommend an alternate name, “Great Commission Baptists” in part because of the racial baggage their historic name holds.

Despite such progress, the SBC has continued to suffer setbacks. A few years ago, the publishing arm of the SBC released Vacation Bible School curriculum largely thought to be racist toward Asians. Titled “Far-out Far East Rickshaw Rally,” the resources drew heavily on Asian stereotypes. The materials included chopsticks, karate uniforms, takeout boxes and images of rickshaws, a recognized symbol of injustice. Despite passionate outcries from Asian-American Christians, the curriculum was distributed to an estimated 20,000 American churches.

On March 31 of this year, Richard Land, the Southern Baptist Convention’s political spokesperson incited controversy with comments regarding the Trayvon Martin case. On his radio show, he called African-American leaders such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton “race mongers” and “racial ambulance chasers” who are politicizing Trayvon’s murder. He added that seeing young black men as threatening is “understandable” since they are “statistically more likely to do you harm than a white man.”

In April, a Southern Baptist seminary professor, Nathan Finn, tweeted, “I know 3 SBC pastors in the same southern state who’ve resigned pastorates in the past 5 years because of racist membership policies.” He added that he had spoken with an SBC pastor whose former church wouldn’t allow African-Americans to become members as late as 2009.

But maybe, just maybe, Southern Baptists are ready to move forward. Many SBC leaders were outraged by Land’s comments, prompting a contrite 5-page apology, an official reprimand, and the forced termination of his radio program. The leader could arguably have gotten by without so much as a hand-slap a decade ago, but not today. Not now.

Despite our occasional setbacks, the sense among Southern Baptists is that a new day is dawning and Fred Luter just might help lead us into the horizon. A black man from a predominately black church in a mostly black neighborhood who understands the black American experience will soon fill the highest elected post in SBC life. The potential impact across the denomination is vast.

And yet, we must temper our glee. Because we know that curricula and comments and membership policies are merely symptoms of a deeper problem, and one that cannot be solved swiftly. It will take more than ballots to solve the race problem that often seems to lurk just below the surface.

We need heart change. We need transformation. We need renewal. But those things must begin somewhere, and for Southern Baptists, the election of an African-American president is as good a starting point as any.

Read more about Jonathan Merritt’s important work …
Jonathan is active as a leader in his own SBC church in Georgia. He also is popular as an author and regular commentator both on network television and a wide range of print and web publications, including USA Today, the Washington Post and The Atlantic. He cares deeply about the vitality of Christian congregations—and is eager to help usher in a new appreciation of diversity in our communities.
Read our recent ReadTheSirit interview with Jonathan Merritt about his work—and his new book: “A Faith of Our Own, Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars.”

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Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion and cultural diversity.

 

Hospitality: You don’t need to be wealthy—to be truly rich

June 12, 2012 by

Benjamin Pratt, at left, enjoys the hospitality of new friends, including Noreen and her mother Barbara (smiling at Noreen).In the midst of global fears about nuclear weapons, terrorists, economic collapse—and a host of other anxieties—a small but growing number of religious voices are calling for the revival of a timeless spiritual truth: Hospitality. In the ancient world from Rome and Greece to Asia, the code of hospitality was so sacred that Hindus described it from the Upanishads as Atithi Devo Bhavah, which means “the guest is God.” Hospitality became a core of Abrahamic religions as well.

Men and women are stirring the grassroots, right now, to fan a revival of hospitality. In Michigan, several professors from the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit already have created an interreligious network exploring this idea, partly through a fledgling website called Essential Core. The seminary’s Professor of Biblical Studies Charles Mabee says that hospitality is powerful partly because it counters our culture’s obsession with competition. Even though hospitality pushes us to humble ourselves and serve our guests, Mabee points out that “we actually become greater through acts of hospitality; by them, we expand what is humanly possible.”

Starting today, ReadTheSpirit will publish an occasional series of articles from men and women fanning the sparks of this revival. Our first story comes from author Benjamin Pratt …

Serving Hospitality on Paper Plates

By Benjamin Pratt

Simply made yet gorgeous desserts were a highlight of our meal.The current Washington Post Magazine features two articles with dazzling pictures of extravagant Washington dinner parties brokered by and with the “in” people of money and power. Sally Quinn reports that at the Correspondents’ Association dinner she found herself sandwiched between the Kardashians and Newt and Callista Gingrich. In the midst of shoving and shouting throngs, she said, “I was shoved up against Callista’s hair and nearly broke my nose. It was scary.” Ouch, that’s not what I call hospitality.

Saturday, my wife Judith and I enjoyed a traditional summer neighborhood cookout—hotdogs, hamburgers, baked beans, watermelon, homemade desserts and lots of warm hospitality. Music, inviting smiles and laughter were abundant, making the gracious home around the corner from ours a welcoming place. But the setting, with an access ramp at the front of this residential house, is not a typical home.

I won’t forget eating a delicious trifle as I turn to the woman next to me to say, “This is really delicious. How long did it take you to make it?”

“Not very long, it is very simple to make,” she says quietly with a shy smile.

“I like it very much, Noreen. I like being here with you in your home,” I respond. She smiles a little broader but does not look into my eyes.

Noreen is one of five residents who live in this group home for persons with intellectual and/or physical disabilities provided by Fairfax County Community Services Board. Noreen does have a job. She travels by bus to the Commerce Department in Washington, DC, each work day to deliver mail to the offices within the building. She cannot read letters but can read numbers and is a welcome member of that work community.

Noreen’s mother, Barbara, has come for the party. Before she sits down, she caresses her daughter’s face which folds into her mother’s cradling arms and they radiate delight as their heads touch. Soon, Kenny, another resident, glides by walking backward while holding the hands of Kathy, as he leads her to a seat at the table. She is followed by Anissa, a staff member who supports Kathy because her disability prevents independent walking. Anissa is one of the staff caregivers who convey love, patience and respect for each of the residents. Eventually, Kenny treated us to his beautiful singing voice as he portrayed Bruce Springsteen singing “Atlantic City.” I think Kenny knows the words of every Springsteen song.

Community Service Boards serve many functions throughout our nation. Among these functions are meeting the residential, outpatient, and day-support needs of citizens with mental illness as well as offering opportunities for occupational and residential independence for citizens with physical and mental disabilities. Increasingly, these boards not only support the care of elderly citizens with mental disabilities and their families, but they directly assist families in caring for members with mental illness, mental disabilities and substance use disorders.

Judith and I are grateful for the trust and hospitality extended us at this lovely home. This gathering of residents, staff, family and neighbors was refreshingly devoid of preoccupations with power, money, class or intellectual acumen that characterized the glamorous soiree Sally Quinn wrote about. Instead, we met in the simple trust that each person would bring honesty, respect and generosity to the moment. And that was refreshing.

Hospitality means having enough love to welcome a friend or stranger, and to be more interested in that person than in one’s self and one’s own agenda. Hospitality and trust make space to truly listen to the other’s story. I am so pleased I was not at the Correspondents’ Association dinner. I am humbled and delighted that I was included at our Group Home’s neighborhood cookout.

Dr. Benjamin Pratt lives in the Washington D.C. area, where he has written two books that are widely used by individuals and groups: Ian Fleming’s Seven Deadlier Sins & 007’s Moral Compass, a Bible study with James Bond and—now finding its way into many congregations and secular groups nationwide—the new Guide for Caregivers, Keeping Your Spirit Healthy When Your Caregiver Duties and Responsibilities Are Dragging You Down.

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Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion and cultural diversity.