Glenn Beck Advises Christians to Leave Their Church

I try to avoid talking about Glenn Beck.  To me, he’s not much more than circus clown – truthfully, I’m not sure he views himself as much more than that.  But, he finally crossed a line, when he said,

I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!"

Personally, I’m not really that concerned by Beck’s rejection of the term social justice.  So be it.  But, I am concerned that millions of folk watch Beck on a nightly basis and have no idea what the term means. So I thought it might be helpful to quickly explore the term.

The term social justice was actually coined by a Jesuit priest, Luigi Taparelli (based on the teachings of Aquinas) in the 1840s.  Since then, the term has been used by lots of different groups. Truthfully, outside a particular context, the word really has no meaning.  But, for most Christians, the term social justice is shaped by a biblical understanding of what it means to be a just society. We discover glimpses and visions of this society throughout scripture.  It is not some nebulous Rawlsian idea of justice and rights, but it is a vision of justice rooted in the holiness of God.

Sojourners magazine (my employer) published a great article a couple years back, that sought to give a better definition of social justice – pulling from Catholic social teaching. The author, Rose Marie Berger, a Catholic said,

The principle of social justice, according to Catholic social teaching, requires the individual Christian to act in an organized manner with others to hold social institutions accountable—whether government or private—to the common good. The “common good comprises the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily,” according to Pope Paul VI. However, social justice can become hollow if it is not constantly in touch with real people’s experiences.

What is Glen Beck afraid of?  Why should people run when they hear this term? It seems that conservatives and liberals can agree on a society where individuals are able to reach their full fulfillment, in the easiest manner possible. When society becomes unequal in opportunity, it is time for people of faith to hold those in power accountable.   

Am I missing something?  Even the Heritage Foundation published a small group study entitled, “Seeking Social Justice?”  Sure, there are disagreements about the path to social justice, but to reject the idea of a just society – that’s simply ridiculous.

Kevin Lum is a pastor of a DC Church, The Table. 

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Pete Rollins - Resurrection as Insurrection

I've not read much by Pete Rollins, but this is an interesting interview.  Pete basically says,  belief in the event of the resurrection is nothing less than participation in an insurrection.  

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Nothing to Offer But Fear

I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry at this story.

Somehow, a GOP fundraising strategy presentation, given by RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart, to top donors and fundraisers, was leaked to the POLITICO yesterday. The contents of the presentation exposed the worst of American politics. The goal of the presentation was simple: play on the fears of our small donors and the egos of our large donors.

I think these two slides really sum up the presentation and give us a glimpse of what we can expect to see over the next few months from the GOP, leading into the mid-term elections:

When will Americans decide enough is enough? Republicans, not Democrats, across the country, should rise up in disgust and call the party leaders to account for their deplorable tactics. It seems that the GOP leadership has nothing to offer other than irrational fear.

Note to GOP: there’s a model for winning political elections with without stooping to fear, it’s simple - lead.

Leading up to 2004 mid-term elections, Newt Gingrich kept a copy of the "Contract with America" in his coat pocket. Every candidate knew the pledge by heart. The contract contained ten legislative priorities that the Republicans promised to pass if elected. 9 of the 10 where passed. Obstruction may win short-term electoral gains, but it will not help a country in crisis. Leading up to the November elections in 1994, the Republicans had not controlled both the House and Senate in nearly 50 years. But, armed with a clear vision of where they wanted to go - they accomplished the impossible – the GOP took control of both chambers of Congress.

Imagine what would happen if the two political parties actually stopped yelling at each other and led. Sure there are disagreements, but that’s the beauty of political debate.

Until we move beyond a politics of blame and fear, we’ll never be able to solve the grave challenges our nation faces.

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By All Means, Reach Some

It seems no story is too inane for CNN these days. Case in point, this story about a nudist church in Virginia. Although, the story doesn't interest me nearly as much as the churches choice of hymnal. It's the Church of the Nazarene's, "Sing to the Lord." I wonder if this is a new church plant?

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The Candle Problem

In 1945, Carl Duncker created a research project, where he gave participants a candle, a box of thumbtacks, and a book of matches, and asked them to attach the candle to the wall so that it did not drip onto the table below. Duncker found that participants tried to attach the candle directly to the wall with the tacks, or to glue it to the wall by melting it. Few thought of using the inside of the box as a candleholder.

But, more recently, researchers added a twist to Dunker’s theory. They split the test subjects into two groups. One half was simply asked to complete the task with no reward and the other half was told the person who finished first, would win a cash prize. Over and over again, the team with the reward, with the carrot if you will - failed miserably. Taking on average three and a half minutes longer to complete the task.

Then researchers added another twist. They took the tacks out of the box and simply left the empty tack box alongside the matches, candle, and tacks. The solution was now obvious and both teams found the solution much quicker - but this time, the incentivized team won, over and over again.

The conclusion was that the incentivised participants were “fixated” on the box’s normal function of holding thumbtacks and could not re-conceptualize it in a manner that allowed them to solve the problem. The prize actually narrowed the participant’s focus. The cash prize somehow prohibited them from thinking outside the box - or inside the box in this situation. On the other hand, if you have a narrow goal and vision – rewards work.

This situation caused me to think about the Christian spirituality. It seems that the Christianity has often been reduced to a narrow view of reward and punishment. Follow the right set of rules and you'll receive the reward of heaven. Disobey the rules and well....you know what happens.

I still remember my first youth revival I preached. I preached my heart out to nearly 300 teens. But, at the end, I said, "My goal is not to keep you out of hell, although I don't want any of you to spend eternity apart from God, but my goal is to help you experience a relationship with a God who loves and cares for you deeply." I finished and almost immediately, a local youth worker jumped to the microphone to make sure the children knew about hell and eternal damnation.

Like the participants fixated on the financial reward, a narrow Christian walk does well when incentivised by reward (and punishment), but if you choose the narrow view of Christianity, you will miss the fullness of God's grace, love and majesty. You will fail to notice God in unusual places and unusual people. In your fixation upon the "reward", you will miss the full life that God has for you.

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Faith, Food & Holiness

Food. Few things affect our lives on a daily basis, in a more intimate way. We all eat.

Yet, I cannot remember the last time I heard food mentioned from a pulpit, unless it was to announce a potluck or make a passing reference to gluttony - often followed by an awkward joke about the pastor’s weight. When was the last time you heard a Sunday school lesson about food or small group study dedicated to healthy eating? I'd guess it's been a while.

I mention this, because the United States is becoming an increasingly unhealthy nation, as we consume copious amount of refined and unhealthy food. Now, I'm not a health nut, nor do I claim to be a particularly healthy eater. But, Charla and I are trying. We're taking small steps. Less refined food. Eating more vegetables. Cooking more meals at home. But, my foray into healthier eating has also been an eye opening experience for me. Eating healthy is expensive! Buying fresh fruits and vegetables can be cost prohibitive. Not to mention the time it takes to cook at home.

As a minister, and someone who is concerned with justice issues, I've begun thinking about food as an issue for the church to address. What are practices that congregations embody or would address this issue? What if churches started vegetable gardens and cooking cooperatives? What if a church offered cooking classes? Because as James Oliver reminded us this week at the TED Conference, if we don't change our ways - our food habits will kill us.

But, even if we realize our need to eat healthier, the cost can be prohibitive. Low-income families are the hardest hit buy the food crisis, because empty calories are cheap. Fruits and vegetables are expensive. Cooking at home is expensive for my wife and I, two decently paid professionals, I cannot imagine what it must be like for a family of four barely making ends meet. For more on this issue, check out LaVonne Neff's blog about eating healthy on food stamps.

I've been reading a lot about the holiness revivals this week. Revival was never confined to simply an internal salvation, but spilled over into ethical concerns in all areas of life. What does it mean to live a holy life? Some of the revivalist concerns seem outdated and antiquated to our modern ears, but their concern was living out the gospel in a public way. There prohibition on dress or even their crusades against alcohol may be hard for us to understand, but the goal was simple - how do we live out the gospel in an authentic way.

Revivalist fought against alcohol, because they saw the destructive influences alcohol on had families and communities. Diabetes is skyrocketing, weight related illnesses are on the rise and obesity is off the charts. I can't help but wonder if food issues should not be the temperance movement of our time.

Food and a shared table are central themes throughout Scripture. Not to mention the idea that our bodies are the temple of the Lord and that we have a responsibility to care for our bodies. What if food once again became central to congregations? I'm not sure what the answers are; I've only just begun to think. I'd be interested to hear other thoughts and ideas.

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Changing face of the church?

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, FL was an epicenter of the religious right and by many accounts one of the countries most prestigious pulpits. Led by Dr. D James Kennedy, until his death in 2007, the church was political powerhouse for much of the last two decades. After going without a pastor since Kennedy’s death, the Church board decided to merge with New City Church – a new church plant led by Billy Graham's grandson, Rev. Tullian Tchividjian.

It’s clear that Tullian Tchividjian is different than Dr. D. James Kennedy, but I think he also provides a further glimpse into the changing face of the church. Two things stood out to me in a recent profile of Tchividjian by Christianity Today. CT says, “Tchividjian credits Anabaptist theologian Stanley Hauerwas for showing him how the church should be the church and not worry about winning cultural approval.” As a fan of Stanley Haurewas, I see that as a hopeful sign. But even more interesting is his thoughts on gospel. Tchividjian says, "The gospel is both individual and communal....The gospel is not simply the story of Christ dying on the cross for sinners. It also involves Christ rising again as the first fruits that will eventually make all things new. There is a universal dimension to the gospel." As CT points out, this sounds more like John Stott than Billy Graham or D. James Kennedy. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Tchividjian and Coral Ridge Presbyterian.

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Mike Gerson on the "Nones"

Mike Gerson, former Bush speech writer, has an article in today's WashPo that provides even more insight into Putnam's study. Gerson says, "The politicization of religion by the religious right, argues Putnam, caused many young people in the 1990s to turn against religion itself, adopting the attitude: 'If this is religion, I'm not interested.' The social views of this younger cohort are not entirely predictable: Both the pro-life and the homosexual-rights movement have made gains." But as I pointed out, all hope is not lost. In fact, there are signs for serious encouragement. Gerson continues on, "But Putnam regards the growth of the 'nones' as a spike, not a permanent trend. The young, in general, are not committed secularists. 'They are not in church, but they might be if a church weren't like the religious right. . . . There are almost certain to be religious entrepreneurs to fill that niche with a moderate evangelical religion, without political overtones." I might add, complete political disengagement on the part of church folk is not the answer. Although young people are not interested in a religious right or a religious left, they are interested in seeing structural change and are savvy enough to realize structural change cannot preclude political involvement.

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Robert Putnam on Religion in America

Historically, the number of individuals who say they have no religious affiliation in America ranges between 5-10%, but a new poll conducted by Robert Putnam (ofBowling Alone fame) and the Pew Forum on Faith in Public Life shows the “nones” is skyrocketing to 30-40% among Generation X and Y. At first glance this would seem like a disturbing trend, at least for those who care about the church and evangelism, but Putnam believes the opposite may be true. The declining trend in religious affiliation could in fact provide an opportunity for a revival of faith in America. In other words, as the religious right declines and the American civil religion dies, there is room for something new to arise out of the ashes.

According to ABC News, Putnam makes clear that the majority of the “nones” are not atheist. In fact he says, “Many of them are people who would otherwise be in church,” He continues. “They have the same attitudes and values as people who are in church, but they grew up in a period in which being religious meant being politically conservative, especially on social issues.” Young people are rejecting the overly politicized religion of their childhood and what they see as an increasingly corrupt institutional church – not God. Putnam sees an opportunity for the church. “Jesus said, ‘Be fishers of men,’” says Putnam, “and there’s this pool with a lot of fish in it and no fishermen right now.”

It is becoming increasingly clear that young people are tired of a religion that stays silent on the great issues of our day, issues like the environment, poverty and education, but they are energized by a faith that leads to social action. Last week at Sojourners’ Mobilization to End Poverty, a young man approached a staff member to tell a familiar story. He grew up in a conservative church, left the faith because he could not believe in the God of his childhood, and then, one night, he heard Jim Wallis speak. Jim shared the gospel of a God who cares for the poor and the marginalized of the world and of a God who calls us to do the same. That night, he returned to Christ.

In social settings, I am often asked to explain where I work. At first, when they hear I work for a religious organization they start looking for someone else to talk with, but as I continue to explain our work you can see the spark in their eye and they’ll almost always reply, “tell me more. I’m not a person of faith/I left the faith, but I like the sound of this.”

However, I see time and time again that young people are not interested in a watered down faith that simply does good work or a faith that replaces the religious right with the religious left. Young people are attracted to an authentic faith in Jesus, grounded in Scripture that leads to social action. A friend of Sojourners tells the story of growing up in a home that taught social justice, but not knowing why she should get out of bed for church. Then during the midst of a struggle for racial justice in a small Texas town, a group of activists - that had been ostracized from local churches for shaking up the social order – began to sing together, pray together and read Scripture together. It was the worshipping community, she says, that gave them the strength to continue on. She had a reason to get out of bed on Sunday. In my opinion, the church must learn to weave together social action, evangelism, a commitment to Scripture, and a worshipping community if it is going to attract the growing number of “nones.” In the midst of what appear to depressing news for religious folk I am hopeful and believe that God is doing a new thing.

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