Davison's Doodle

Morning Reading . . .

It was a busy summer and especially July in our little corner of creation.  My companion and I traveled most of the month with work splashed into the travels.  That is one way life is different for me.  Have laptop and phone so the office is always with me.  I choose to “work” on holiday to stay informed and meet expectations of my position.  I also channel a bit of my father’s workaholic tendency the older I become. Anyway, there has not been much time for the leisure routine of reading and when I have I did not make the time to post.  I guess if some of my livelihood depended on this blog to generate income then maybe it would get into my regular attention sphere.

I do like to write and think through the keyboard.  That part of my day is coming back when September arrives.

Morning reading . . . you might guess that it is dominated by news and opinion about the clash of ideals and values in Charlottesville, VA this past Saturday.  Oddly, we passed through Charlottesville on the train from Lynchburg to New York during July taking our niece on her graduation trip.

The last article from Vox.com provides some explanation about the forces at work on white people, no matter how educated or cosmopolitain one might be, as our country struggles to embrace changing demographics, leadership, and address systemic racism.  Like my denomination, our country is going through a remodel.  Some citizens are not comfortable with the architects drawing the plans.  The film, “Men of Honor” highlights the fragile relationship of poor whites, working class whites, and specific to the film, black people, though if made about our historical context it would no doubt include other non-white people.

The response to the election of former President Obama by the GOP at all levels of government, in polite educated voices like Senator McConnell and the gun wielding Tea Party movement, was an alarm ignored that led to the election of Trump with Russian help or not.  In the end, the privacy of the election booth gave cover for the fear of other, of change, and loss of power to overshadow education and experience.  Electing a woman, even a white woman, after such a shock of victory by a non-white was just too much for some of our citizens no matter her qualifications.  And Trump’s lack of civility, open bigotry, and attitude of being above the law based on his economic privilege empowers white people to act out without fear of prosecution like what we saw in Charlottesville. President Trump’s bullying privilege makes space for discriminatory religious liberty laws, for pro-birth requirements of women, and monetizing all aspects of life. These United States are looking a lot more like the Nation States of Europe rather than one Nation with liberty and justice for all.  Maybe these are growing pains?

We are all racists, sexists, some kind of ‘ists’ or ‘ism’ to some degree or another no matter our ethnicity.  The movie “Blazing Saddles” notes this aspect about the human condition very well.  And the movie demonstrates that this doesn’t mean humans cannot overcome this condition, but it takes intentionality.  If we survive this second decade of the 21st century it will be because American citizens decided to give up our adolescent ways, learn from history, and embrace early adulthood as a Nation.  The civic contract we have with one another requires it.  I wonder if people in other parts of the world ask themselves, “I thought America was better than that?”

This Indiana man is in the middle of the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville
IndyStar.com

Christian Parents of LGBTQ Children: The Church Has Been Wrong
http://johnpavlovitz.com

Editorial: We don’t have words strong enough
The Roanoke Times

Amid the violence in Virginia, President Trump failed in a test of leadership
The Dallas Morning News

Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide
Southern Poverty Law Center

Independents’ movement hits Philly, walking in Founders’ footsteps
philly.com

The Charlottesville protests are white fragility in action
Vox.com

 

Morning Reading . . .

Yes, tardy with my morning reading.  Sleeping or walking with my companion in the early morning rather than sitting at the computer or device.  See below some reading from the morning and a few thoughts as my companion and I prepare to attend our denominational gathering we call, General Assembly.

 

I was ordained into Christian ministry in November 1991.  I’ve been to a few of these gatherings we call, General Assembly.  As we prepare to make the journey to GA17 some have asked what General Assembly is all about.  If you are part of our little frontier movement and have never attended an General Assembly, I recommend it.  See our denomination come together and know you or your congregation are not alone in your experience, worship, mission, and struggles with culture.  Of course, this presumes that there will be another General Assembly in 2019.  Yes, there are conversations about NOT having a General Assembly, but I don’t think General Board can rewrite The Design and by-laws that quickly.  So, odds are that some kind of General Assembly will happen in Des Moines, Iowa, summer 2019.   Is it time to hold General Assembly on a cruise ship?

Some observations about General Assembly.

• It is a gathering of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) church where the General Units are transformed into church because congregations are gathered together.  Otherwise, the General Units are non-profit organizations providing resources and connections for our Regions and congregations and representing our denomination at ecumenical and interfaith gatherings.  The General church, is only church, when we are at General Assembly.  The same is true for Regions.
• The resolutions are a mix of lament and joy addressing social and theological issues relevant to our world and our congregations.  The resolutions and our discussion of them have devolved over the years as we have valued education less and the loudest voices more.  Recognizing that the culture of ‘win/lose’ has shaped our resolution process we’ve worked to stop voting on sensitive resolutions that could be controversial.  The resolutions at General Assembly speak for the congregations gathered at General Assembly.  The resolutions speak to our denomination and other expressions of Christian witness.
• General Assembly is an opportunity for people to reconnect with people they’ve not seen or spoken too in a long time or since the last General Assembly even though the technology of the day would have made those conversations easy to continue.  Old seminary friendships are renewed.  Old stories are shared, and late night conversational visions are dreamed.  General Assembly creates the space for new connections to resources and relationships.
• General Assembly is an ongoing lament about our denomination making peace, organizationally and theologically, with being a denomination; and the ongoing struggle for our covenantal authority to be accountable to one another while adopting the best practices of corporate America and wrestling with the lack of recognized hierarchy authority of denominations that represent the historic episcopacy of Christianity.  Using the term ‘bishop’ for our Regional ministers may help in our ecumenical relationships, and affirming of our Regional ministers in our org chart, but it does not represent the authority Regional ministers do not have with clergy and congregations.  It can be a helpful descriptive for persons from other denominations when explaining what a Regional minister does, but that is the end of its helpfulness.
• General Assembly has become a diverse deliberative worshipping community that dabbles in orthodox Christian theology, mild creedal based faith (what we’ve allowed to happen to The Preamble to the Design), praise and worship leaders (what we once looked to our ministers to do), and technology use in an effort to blend into the Christian landscape.  We’ve allowed style over content to define ‘contemporary’ worship.  Oh, for the day, when the content of our worship will be understood as contemporary.  I would argue that our most theologically conservative congregation is probably the most liberal Christian congregation in their community.
• General Assembly is our bi-annual intergenerational summer camp. When I reflect on it, General Assembly offers what I explain happens at a Disciples summer camp experience: play, prayer, worship, service, and study.

 

Morning Reading . . .

100 Best Albums of the Nineties
Rolling Stone Magazine Online

Why Pastors and Priests are Leaving the Church (Part 2): What to Do About It
Brian McLaren

10 predictions about the future Church and shifting attendance patterns
Carey Nieuwhof, Christian Week

Commentary: West Texas figures out why Abbott hates public schools
Lonn Taylor, Austin American Statesman