General Assembly Wrap-Up

Owing to some Internet connection issues and some long days, I was unable to post entries the final days of the Assembly. Still, I'd like to make a few more observations.

Overall, the Assembly was a great gathering. Others suggested that it was very different from previous Assemblies, with a very different (and shorter) schedule, and a much different feel. On one of the Disciples email list-servs to which I belong, there has been quite a bit of discussion about the style of preaching over the four evening worship services -- evidently it too was different.

From my perspective, I thought there was a huge effort to be inclusive of the broad diversity of Disciples, including (but not limited to) our theological diversity, our racial diversity, our age diversity, our aesthetic diversity (particularly in music), and our cultural diversity. The music was surprisingly varied, although it frequently sounded the same because it was performed by the same musicians (which meant that older hymns felt a bit like more recent praise music).

On the other hand, the schedule was very busy, and the business sessions were far too long (and often unnecessarily so -- if you've submitted a written report, maybe highlight a couple of things and then just take questions, but report after report featured extensive comments). Mostly, this was because each session was filled with things other than business -- lengthy Bible study/reflections, 30 minute lectures on Disciples history (I'm not making that up). These could be nice touches to remind people of the reason for the business, but they took FAR too long. Much more successful were the small touches by Rev. Ayanna Johnson, outgoing 1st Vice Moderator, who offered a pastoral and human presence in the business meetings, particularly in her prayers. (I went to school with Ayanna, and I was thrilled to see her brilliantly fill a tough position -- and thrilled to see someone under 30 serving in a major and visible leadership role in the church.)

The business sessions achieved very little, from my perspective, as far as our congregation is concerned. The new ministry guidelines were passed, despite objections from many (including a region that said they would be virtually impossible for them to implement). Certain procedural things were worked out, including plans for the 2013 Assembly. Perhaps the resolution on transparency will allow more visibility of the General Board and its activities -- time will tell. Perhaps the resolution declaring that we are a Global Mission Church will have positive effects felt throughout the church -- right now, I see most of the tangible effects in the regional churches. The other resolutions, offering solidarity with one group or another, will likely affect nothing. But I'm sure people felt good about themselves when they voted for them.

The preaching at the Assembly was an interesting mix of things. I enjoyed the opportunity to hear all of the preachers, though the best sermons I heard during the week were not in evening worship. I had the opportunity to hear Fred Craddock preach at a downtown Indianapolis church Sunday morning; despite his age, he still had a message to share in his inimitable gentle way. And while I did not appreciate all of the add-on stuff in the business sessions, the Bible Study (really sermon) on Saturday morning from Jose Morales was phenomenal; I purchased a DVD to share with the congregation sometime this fall.

I got to catch up with friends from around our church, to hear about their current ministries and activities and to share ours. I met some new people and learned a few things. I spent some time (whenever I could catch a few minutes) in prayerful contemplation of our future -- why I had to go to Indianapolis to hear God speaking about some things I don't know, but God spoke there just the same.

General Assembly - Day 2

Another full day at the General Assembly. There were more people around today (at least it seemed much more crowded). And I've now run into several people from the West Virginia region, including most of the regional staff.

The business meeting for the day was fairly uneventful. Several more reports were received from ministries of the General church, including the Board of Publication, Church Extension (which featured a skit -- a nice way to liven up talk about dollars and cents), and Higher Education (HELM), which featured their now-anticipated skit. (Even though I'd never been to an assembly, I'd heard about the HELM presentations.)

Three resolutions were considered by the Assembly today. A resolution sponsored by the Disciples Peace Fellowship about the importance of pacifism based on our desire for Christian unity was referred to the Council on Christian Unity for further discussion. A change in regional borders -- moving one congregation from one region to another based on proximity to other Disciples congregations -- was approved. A motion to consider changing the times of future assemblies to an alternating summer/fall schedule was defeated.

In the afternoon, there were several guided discussions about our churches and our future together, adapting a model developed by a group called World Cafe. These discussions, called the Wholeness Cafe, were interesting, if a little too long for most people (including me). I found the process exciting for a couple of reasons.

First, I met a young women of college age who spoke about why she really liked being a Disciple. She talked about how she appreciated that she was responsible for her faith in our church. No one was going to give her a list of rules or heavy-handed expectations. Instead, she had to develop a moral compass based on her faith. She spoke of how she felt empowered to ask tough questions, and nurtured by her congregation to look for answers. Often as a pastor, I hear about how no one wants a faith like she described -- they just want people to give them answers. It was exciting to see someone passionately talking about a much more vibrant faith.

Second, towards the end, our groups were supposed to come up with a BOLD (their capitalization) idea for the church based on our discussions. Our group came up with a proposal that, I realized after a few minutes, we are already on our way to beginning at Central Christian -- to find ways to invite people outside our church to non-Sunday morning activities. Given that it was not at all my proposal to the group (by that time, I was too tired to do much heavy thinking), it feels like we might be on a good path.

Our evening worship was about sin -- not a terribly uplifting topic, but a necessary one given the theme of the Assembly: "For the healing of the nations." The worship was mostly comforting, though I suppose challenging to those who, unlike myself, are not of a Calvinist bent. Certainly the sermon was a solid exploration of the issue, if a little long for many people's tastes. (Personally, I was okay with it, but I heard lots of discussion about it.)

I continue to run into friends and acquaintances here. Discipledom is a very small world sometimes. I am amazed how many people I have met is such a short time (as a pretty new Disciple myself) over the years. It is invigorating to connect with them face to face again.

I also had a brief conversation with Larry Grimes, the new Director of Church Relations at Bethany College (after many years as a professor there). We spoke about my plans to organize a trip to Bethany in the fall (as you may have noticed in the August newsletter) and I learned that there are several special events, including a talk by Dr. Grimes, on the Saturday I announced, corresponding to the 200th anniversary of Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address. So we can join in the celebration with our trip.

General Assembly - Day 1

Day one of the 2009 General Assembly is over. It's been a hectic day, but a good one.

The first business session (one of four) lasted for three hours this afternoon. The main part of the session was the "State of the Church" presentation by the General Minister and President Sharon Watkins. It was an interesting presentation about the progress of Disciples in the past couple of years, including some stories about exciting things happening in some of our congregations.

Additionally, there were reports from the ethnic Disciples ministries -- NAPAD (North American Pacific Asian Disciples), National Convocation, and Hispanic Ministries -- and the Council on Christian Unity.

Only a couple of items of business came before the session. A resolution passed encouraging greater openness in the business of the General Assembly and General Board, particularly in their meetings.

The time and place of the 2013 General Assembly was also approved. This assembly will be held in Orlando, FL in July of 2013.

Tonight, we had an uplifting worship service, featuring a good sermon by Cynthia Hale, a pastor from the Atlanta area. She was raising the roof, preaching "You Are a Piece of Work" (and what a wonderful thing it is to be a piece of God's work). The music has also been a pleasant surprise -- it has been mostly excellent, with only a couple of exceptions.

Personally, I've been running into all sorts of people that I know. Some from West Virginia, but many from all over the US now (amazing what a small world the Disciples church can be). It took me a long time to get out of worship tonight, talking to everyone. It's been a joy to reconnect with them and see how they're doing. I imagine I'll spend a lot of my free time doing that the next few days.

More information on the assembly, including photographs, is available at the Disciples web page and the DisciplesWorld website.

General Assembly

General Assembly is this week. I have arrived (a couple of days early to enjoy some family time) safely and without incident, and I will do my best to post regular updates from the assembly. This is a time for the larger church to gather (through its representatives) to worship together and conduct some important business.

For those unable to attend the Assembly, the large worship services and the opening business session will be streamed LIVE online, so that you may be able to get a taste of what's going on from the comfort of your own home. Information, including times, is available here.

Other information is available here, including details of all of the business being conducted at this year Assembly.

Coming Up Sunday, July 12

This Sunday, we will continue our study of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonian church. Having looked at Paul's extended introduction to the letter the past few weeks, now we will consider Paul's specific recommendations to the church.

This week's sermon has developed in a different way than I expected, so I have changed the scripture lesson and the sermon title from what has been published. Now the text will be 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, and the title is "Speak Softly...". The lesson focuses on connected instructions from Paul -- not to engage in unhealthy relationships among themselves and to live quiet, hard-working lives.

Both of these directions seem concerned with preventing the Thessalonians from drawing the attention of the governing officials. Paul is greatly concerned with encouraging the church in the face of growing persecution -- including the threat of more persecution in the future. So he tells them to not draw attention to themselves, to live simply and productively. He also tells them not to do things that will lead others to gossip about them, especially in their relationships with each other (an allusion, likely, to sexual relationships, or even the appearance of sexual relationships).

We live under very different circumstances than the Thessalonians. Christians dominate the American culture, so there is rarely danger of persecution for religious practice or profession. And 2000 years of teaching have convinced the wider world that all this talk about Christian love is distinct from romantic and/or sexual relationships. So the question arises: Are we still supposed to keep our heads down and live quiet lives?

On Sunday, we'll consider what our reputation as Christians is today and whether we should be happy with that general reputation or not.

A Quincentennial; or Happy Birthday, Jean Cauvin

Today marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of noted theologian John Calvin. It is difficult to overstate Calvin's influence theologically, particularly in the United States, where our religious thought -- regardless of denomination -- is heavily shaped by Calvin.

Born in France (as Jean Cauvin; the Anglicized version is John Calvin), Calvin gained prominence as a religious and political leader in Switzerland, where he often found himself at the center of controversy. At one point in career, he was forced to leave Geneva due to a theological dispute, although the Genevan church eventually invited him back with open arms.

A prolific writer, Calvin wrote commentaries on almost every book in the Bible, published many sermons, wrote hundreds of letters, and authored several theology books. His most noted work, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, was a complete summary of his central theological views. First written when he was in his 20s, Calvin revised and expanded the text five times during his life (each version was published). At its heart, the book presents a theology where an omnipotent God dominates virtually all aspects of life. This led to Calvin's famous belief in double predestination, in which God determines from the outset which people will be saved and which people will be damned.

More important, though, is the emphasis that this puts on a divine purpose for each human life. A God who controls all aspects of the world also controls what each created being should do in that world, argues Calvin, meaning that each person has God-given tasks to discover and perform. This view of "the meaning of life" has become instilled in American psyches (in particular), deeply ingrained even apart from religious belief. (Just think about how often it occurs in popular media.)

My theological thinking is heavily influenced by Calvin (and by his great predecessor Augustine), though I usually admit that grudgingly because Calvin seems like such an unlikeable fellow. Brilliant, yes, but also the last guy you'd ever want to invite to a party (or anywhere else).

There is some media coverage of today's anniversary, but less than I'd imagined there would be, and less than a figure of Calvin's stature and influence deserves. But here are some articles marking this day:

• Peter Steinfels in The New York Times
• William Klempa in the National Post (a Canadian publication)
• an AP article also published on the DisciplesWorld website
• and an essay by Serene Jones (Disciples theologian and now president of Union Theological Seminary) on Belief.net

Pastor Josh Answers Your Questions: Yes, I Am Back from Camp; No, I Did Not Kill Billy Mays

It's been a long time since I've posted, due mostly to a very hectic few weeks. Over the next few days, I hope to write about some of the activities of the past few weeks, including my vacation and two regional camps. But there seems to be one burning issue that requires my attention.

No, I did not kill Billy Mays.

I did not know that the famous infomercial pitchman had died unexpectedly when I mentioned him during Sunday's sermon. True, I had not planned on mentioning him -- though the image of Billy Mays pitching Jesus is certainly intriguing -- but it certainly seemed appropriate given the sermon title and subject matter.

Now even my mother has requested that I not mention her by name during future sermons, as have many others.

I suppose that this is one way to make my sermons shorter. If I can't mention anyone by name, I might stop mentioning people altogether. Or maybe I can only mention people by name after everyone knows they're dead. But how long do I have to wait before I can talk about them after they are dead? And if I have to wait for people to die before I can talk about them by name, what am I supposed to do about Jesus?

These are the things no one explains to ministers before they become ministers. Eerie things will happen in your sermons from time to time. You'll talk about someone, only to find out later that something terrible has happened to them, such as suffering a pulmonary embolism. Or you'll make a passing joke about football loyalties, only to accurately predict the outcome of the Super Bowl three months in advance (Nov. 2006). Is it coincidence? Is it the Holy Spirit? Is it the spirit of someone's bookie?

Who knows? Needless to say, I imagine that I will not stop mentioning people during my sermons. And frankly, I'm not sorry that I mentioned Billy Mays on Sunday, though I'm saddened by the untimely death of anyone.

I had a friend in college who earned a ton of money selling knives while he was in college, which is how Billy Mays got his start as a pitchman. My friend turned away from sales, though. Now he's a Catholic priest. (That's not a joke -- he was ordained in May.)

And Paul was a pitchman too, except that his product was in no way a gimmick. He was offering people something that would dramatically improve their lives. Often, he was reaching out to people (Gentiles) who were not predisposed to understand what he was talking about, which meant that he first needed to show what the problem (lives of sin) before he could demonstrate the solution (redemption). The analogy could be pushed too far, but it's fair to say that Paul always used himself as a model recipient of Christ's love.

I don't think that Paul ever offered to double the offer if they called in the next ten minutes, though. Just pay shipping and handling.... (If Paul had thought of it, he probably would have used it. Of course, can you imagine how much shipping and handling would have run you in Paul's day?)

I hope that I've cleared that up.

What? You have another question?

[listening to question]

No, there's not another camp I can go to this week. You're stuck with me here.