Archive for November, 2007
Monday, November 26th, 2007
William Willimon has recently posted on reaching what he calls The Abandoned Generation.
He begins by reflecting on the growth of binge drinking on university campuses, the increasing rate of violent crimes and suicide among young people. Despite these factors, however, Willimon observes that this generation is open to listening to the voices of older generations, in a way that would have been unthinkable in the 1960s.
I have found that today’s “Abandoned Generation” brings a new curiosity and openness to the gospel as well as a willingness to hear what their elders have to say, if we will speak directly to them. Therefore leaders of the church need to revise some of our conventional wisdom about the imperviousness of young adult hearts to the gospel.
Thomas G. Long is quoted:
“There is a growing recognition that it is not enough for the community of faith to wait around for the “boomers” to drift back. ….Conventional wisdom holds that there are three broad phases in religious commitment: There is childhood, a pliable and receptive age religious instruction can and should be given; there is mature adulthood, when people, given the right incentives, can be persuaded to take on the responsibilities of institutional church life. In between childhood and adulthood, there is the vast wasteland of adolescence and young adulthood, a time when most people wander, or run away from their religious roots. The most that a community of faith can do in this middle period is to wait patiently, to leave people alone in their season of rebellion, smiling with the knowledge that, by the time these rebels arrive at their thirties, they will probably be back in the pews and may well be heading up the Christian education committee. This conventional wisdom is wrong….”
Willimon asks if we can see the needs and problems of this generation of young adults as an invitation to proclaim the gospel with boldness, to beckon them toward a new world named the Kingdom of God? “If we can, we shall discover this generation as a marvelous opportunity for gospel proclamation.”
I agree that young adults are open to the voices of many people. However this is not the openness of naivety. There’s a sense of discernment and exploration of what it actually means to join the messenger in the development of a future with meaning. Younger generations will not listen long if it is obvious that the older generation is involved in one way communication. This generation has a marvelous opportunity to be proclaimers of the gospel.
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Monday, November 26th, 2007
I voted in the Australian federal elections for the first time on Saturday. It was a moment our family had looked forward to ever since we became citizens on Australia Day earlier this year. We walked as a family down the local polling booth, run by the local Church of Christ.
Waiting outside the door were three party representatives with ‘how to vote sheets’, one on the left from Labour, and two on the right from Liberal and National. No one from the Greens or Democrats. I used to think the practice of ‘how to vote’ cards was an affront to democracy. But looking at the complexity of the voting form I can now see how handy it is to get some support from the preferred party. The House of Representatives voting form in Fadden had eight candidates, whom I was required to vote for in order of preference. When it came to the Senate I had the choice of ticking a party’s box or numbering all 65 candidates from Queensland in order. I chose to do all 65.
I’ll put my colours on the mast by saying that earlier in the week I’d had a great conversation with Rana Watson, the local Labor candidate for Fadden. We talked about ways in which the federal government can foster respect for the unique approaches to land and economy provided by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We both come from New Zealand originally and naturally think about the distinctive natures of the Maori and Aboriginal peoples. It was good to hear about how Rana got involved in politics through mobilising his fellow workers.
When it came to voting for the Senate I found myself hoping for an alternative voices that would keep Labor and the Coalition honest. Having made my top choices it was a matter of wading through the seemingly harmless Fishing Party and Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party before consigning genuinely dangerous voices to the bottom of the heap.
After lunch out, and a leisurely walk home, it was time to head off to find aerial cables to connect up our TV in the new house.
Despite it clearly being a landslide to Labor, candidates generally refrained from public bitterness and bravado. Courtesy and dignity and respect for the democratic process came through in such a way as to put the lie to Sunday morning’s newspaper headlines of “PM’s pain as reign ends in night of blood”, “Invisible man fells minister”, and “Tribal warfare in western suburbs”. (Sunday Mail)
I am so looking forward to a climate in which a wide range of political leaders can provide leadership in their field and invite collaboration and consultation. I’m even tempted to explore joining a political party if that’s what it takes to become part of the development of the future policies of this country.
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Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
Today the New Zealand Parliament voted in amendments to the terrorism suppression laws, allowing the government to designate terrorist organisations and creating a new offence of commiting an act of terrorism (penalty of life sentence). The Prime Minister will have the responsibility of designating groups and individuals as terrorists. Police will have the power to lock people up without charge, under the instructions of politicians.
It’s a move that is said to arise from international response to the existence of groups such as Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah. Only problem is that violent activism has been part of New Zealand’s short history since European invasion. And the raids of Tuhoe land in the Ureweras over the last month would have cut to the bone of the memories that were associated with resistance to land confiscation.
With the restriction of certain rights the Government has a responsibility to ensure that extra efforts are made to protect vulnerable bicultural relationships. Nothing can be taken for granted.
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Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
Compass, the ABC religious affairs program, presented a documentary on the theological tensions within the Uniting Church on Sunday night.
“In 2007 the Uniting Church turns 30. Our third largest Christian denomination (after Catholic and Anglican churches) is a uniquely Australian institution formed in a spirit of ecumenical unity and strong social justice ideals. It combined the Methodist and most of the Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches. But over the past decade its constituency has divided and fractured: many different expressions of faith are today lived under one church banner. How can it survive? Compass examines the unfolding story of a modern and dis-united church.”
The documentary attempts to report on the tension of a denomination struggling to live with both progressive and conservative wings in tension.
From the Assembly of Confessing Congregations pole (previously EMU and Reforming Alliance) we have national spokesman Max Champion, with John and Marion Morrison, a retired couple who lead Boys and Girls Brigades at Bondi in Sydney.
From the Progressive pole we have Rex Hunt, minister at St James in Canberra, along with a few members of St James. There’s a connection with a younger generation with Alison Proctor, a young woman attracted to the liberal progressive theology at St James.
We have excerpts of a sermon by David Gill, former General Secretary of the Uniting Church Assembly, and an interview with Philip Hughes, Christian Research Association (somehere in the middle of the divide).
Take a look at the transcript at Compass, and watch out for the typo in which Max Champion advocates belief in reincarnation rather than incarnation! The transcript doesn’t include the narrator’s unfavourable contrast between the inaugural citywide service in Sydney in 1977 and a local congregational celebration in 2007.
Responses
Overall I found the doco disappointing. There was little sense of engaging with the ‘messy middle’, nor with the emerging young voices I’m in touch with regularly. The documentary helped me understand the importance the Assembly of Confessing Congregations places on adhering to orthodox statements of beliefs - a ‘confessing stream’ within a contextual church.
Darren Wright’s written a bit of a rant on the Compass program at Planet Telex.
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Monday, November 12th, 2007
Heavenly Sanctuary, a Christian conference organisation focusing on the character of God, have stirred public opinion with a set of posters showing Jesus washing the feet of international leaders.
In the poster Jesus kneels at the feet of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former English Prime Minister Tony Blair, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, US president George W Bush, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Jiang Zemin, former president of China.
The poster was designed by Lars Justinen from the Justinen Creative Group for use on posters advertising the conference. Different versions of the posters had captions such as “Follow the Leader,” “God IS Great,” and “Jesus - Still Too Radical?” Heavenly Sanctuary had the posters in several Seattle malls but had to take them down after complaints from the public about the inclusion of Osama Bin Laden in the line up.
Greg Boyd
Greg Boyd reflects on the negative reactions to the poster by suggesting that many Christians have tragically allowed their patriotism to co-opt their faith.
“They have allowed their American citizenship to take priority over their Kingdom citizenship, despite the New Testament’s instruction for disciples to consider themselves “foreigners” and “exiles” wherever they happen to live (Heb. 11:13; I Pet 1:17, 2:11) and to consider their real citizenship “in heaven” (Phil 3:20). Many American Christians seem to want a Jesus who will defend their country and hate their national enemies as much as they do. Many want the Jesus of the Middle Ages whom Crusaders called on to help them slaughter, not serve, their Islamic enemies. Many seem to want to reduce Jesus to just another version of the tribal gods that have been called on for centuries to bless tribal battles. Most wars throughout history have been fought under the banner of some god or another.”
Greg goes on to write about the real Jesus who wrapped a towel around his waist and washed the dirty, smelly feet of people he knew would deny and betray him in a couple of hours.
Kofi Annan
What I find interesting is that Jesus is actually washing Kofi Annan’s feet. The guy who’s been responsible for challenging, rebuking, negotiating, supporting and resourcing world leaders, is the first to have his shoes off and treated to a foot bath by the one many would consider to be the ultimate expression of God’s character in the flesh. The others know that they’re possibly next in line for this treatment. They’re being taught a valuable lesson in leadership and character, a radical alternative to the survival-focused model of rule or be ruled.
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