ASHES AND GOOD THEOLOGY

Recently a friend of mine became the victim of an arsonist.  He owns a small hotel and one night someone tried to set it on fire.  Thankfully no one was killed, but folks did have to jump off of a  balcony to escape.  The resulting and arduous experience of figuring out the cause, of getting a settlement with the insurance company, of  working his way through the fire department,  arson detectives, claims agents, and city  bureaucrats was frustrating, and sometimes exasperating.    After finally getting word that he would get an insurance settlement I texted him, "God is good." He came back at me with the thought,  "even if I hadn't gotten a settlement God is still  good." I complimented him on his good theology,  and so he sent me a simple message:   "Ashes and good theology!"     It seems to me there is a lot in that phrase.  There is a lot of reality in it, and a lot of hope too.  Okay, so the hotel is still destroyed, it is no longer beautiful, no longer something or someplace that anyone would want to stay in.  All the hardship of having to rebuild it,  of working his way through designers, contractors, builders, and government regulation still lies ahead.       The hope that someday people will make  reservations trusting that it is a safe place to  stay, that it will again be a means of income, all remain to be seen.  Whatever comes my friend has a good theology, and that theology is one which believes in the immutable  character of God as benevolent, compassionate, kind, loving, caring and  mindful for all he has made. He has taken the Christian commitment of believing that these things never change about God.     I guess my friend doesn't live in Ferguson,  Missouri.  Maybe he doesn't live in Mosul, Iraq, or in Liberia, or Donetsk, Ukraine.  Surely theology has to adjust and change for such places and for various contexts full  of despair, evil, injustice and death.  How can our circumstances not change our view of God?   How can our pain and suffering,  whether as individuals, families, ethnic groups, or nations not affect our view of what God is like,  or even if he exists?     One of the important sub-points of theology,  (and not just philosophy in my opinion,) is aesthetics.  Our view of beauty, what is pleasing, fulfilling, hopeful.  The sensory aspects of life that give us hope and renew our hope.  They are emotional and they give us comfort.  It is order and symmetry, it is proportion, it is attractive and stimulating, it is the sense or rightness and balance or even intriguing  strangeness in things and places, it is akin to justice but in a different plane.  Whether made by the unseen hand of God, or what others  call nature, or made by humans and even intellectual thought-beauty gives all of us hope  if indeed we can see or experience it.     What do we do when it is gone, or destroyed?  What do we do when what brought us delight turns to ashes, and do those ashes rattle our expectation of continuity, and convince us that all good things will perish and fade, diminish, rot, and burn?       What do we do with the reality that  the children we held from the birthing table, whose fingers and toes we counted, whose coos and giggles, unbridled laughter and joy, and sweet and tender flesh are now dead  and buried in a box? Our only visual of amazingly beautiful people left in photographs which only too soon  will fade. Their images trapped in digital electrons so easily deleted,  as if God pushed the wrong  key on the board and can't get it back; all his work for nothing.     The Bible (Romans chapter 1) teaches us  that God's eternal power has been clearly perceived in what he has made.  "Eternal power" means it is one of the things that never runs out, never gives out, and can never turn to dust and ashes. Now our wickedness takes that truth and tries to smash the life out of it, attempts to scream over its voice, and uses all its  argument to deny and suppress what the stars  and the universe shout so loudly:  "God is forever, and he is the creator of all beauty," and thus all goodness is his idea, and his work.  Eternity and beauty taken together leaves us with one exhilarating conclusion, God is good and that goodness is neither circumstantial nor temporary.     This is not a denial of ashes, nor of the reality of injustice, or loss, or pain.  Good theology doesn't deny the inevitable rubbish of sin,  the wake of evil, the waste of a despised perfection we lost once in a beautiful garden to which we cannot return. Good theology  doesn't deny the reality of ashes, rather it affirms the undiminished love of God in the face of a diminished and fallen creation.       Ashes without faith in a good God  is a skull's mouth filled with dust, there is and can be nothing left for which to hope.  Without faith in the benevolent constancy of God we are left with anger, grief, remorse,  bitter frustration for the loss we bear of all  that we loved and valued.  We despair of ever having the justice for which we fought and dreamed but which we will never see  or see no more, this is all that is left us.  Unless we think memories of auld lang syne  are enough; death will erase those too.     Our faith is in a God who is good, and good  all the time, even when buildings burn and we lose hope in structures and lose faith  in human beings who set the fires.  Our faith is in a God who is good in the midst of pestilence, and war, and the brutality of authority without restraint, and ideology let lose to murder  and rape.  That faith is because of  beauty  once seen in what and whom God has made, that such stuff and such people were actually created by him.       That faith is because of love now known  in the face of a Christ who died for our sins, and forgives us for our part in this common tragedy of earthly rot and human failure.  That faith is in the future revealed of a new heaven  and new earth where there is no more suffering,  or crying, or pain.  Our faith in a good God is because we believe that the God who took dust and formed a man can bring life even out of ashes if he chooses.  Resurrection makes the phrase "second chance" a short-sighted and anemic perspective.  An eternal God has a lot more to give than a second chance, or the finding of an erased hard drive, or even the hope of learning from our mistakes.    Every person, and every place, and every  culture can breathe a constant renewal of hope  from the only source of life, who calls himself  "I AM."   And as long as he is, ashes are not the definitive end.  It is as Job said, "though worms destroy this body,  yet in my flesh shall I see God."

TO BEARD THE LION IN HIS DEN

There is a line from a Jim Croce song, "You don't tug on Superman's cape,  you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and you don't mess around with Jim."

    There have been times when I have been driving down a city street and group of young black men have been walking in it.  These young people were not "crossing"  the street, but walking in it and as my vehicle grew closer they seemed in no hurry to get out of my way.  There was definitely the feeling of  arrogance and insolence, and sometimes the actual statement of "what ya gonna do?"
 
    I wondered if they really felt that confident that I was not just as much of a jerk, that I in fact would obey the law, that I would not use my thousands of pounds of steel to just run them over because I had something to prove.  It can be the problem of youth, to not realize that even adults sometimes decide they just don't care, they don't care about the law, or you, or what the consequences will be for their actions.

    Sometimes we watch animal shows and we see someone from Australia think he can keep grabbing the tail of the snake and it won't bite him.  Then of course he goes swimming with Manta Rays and they do in fact kill him.  I remember once, during annual training, visiting a Tennessee National Guardsman in the hospital who thought he could catch rattlesnakes with his hand, which was now bound up the size of a sledge hammer.  It is the problem with youth, the problem with men, the problem with people, that they might believe or hope the other person (or thing) has boundaries that they don't, and then they are dead.

    Policemen carry guns in this country, and in many states so do a lot of the citizens.  In the South, where more policemen get shot than anywhere else, policemen usually try to be polite during a car stop or domestic visit.  It might make a difference in the outcome. 
  
    Our behavior does make a difference in how people treat us, but not always.  This however does not discount the fact that our behavior matters.  Some who think they should be able to live and do and say anything they want to real life might come as a surprise. For some of those folks who think they can "beard the lion" and assume that other people must always treat them justly, and fairly, and legally; sudden death destroys that illusion.

    We read intense debates about rape and the anger over any implication that the dress or the behavior of a woman had anything to do with it.  We hear outrage over someone suggesting that a woman might have been hurt by her husband because of her mouth. Our culture seeks to divorce responsibility from all victims of abuse, violence, or oppression no matter what they might have done.

    It might be good for the reader to remember this immediately following statement, and come back to it after getting angry at what follows: Anyone taking sexual advantage of someone without their free, conscious, while of legal age and status compliance, should be held accountable and punished.  Anyone who has power or authority over someone else, and uses it to hurt them outside of the law or without due process, should be held accountable and punished. We give no excuses here for the perpetrators.

    It is still hard not to think a woman who wears scanty clothes, strips, gets high or drunk with men she doesn't know, and who is then assaulted to be stupid, or wickedly naive thinking she can live life on the edge and not get cut.  It is not because men especially aren't responsible for their choice to be violent and aggressive, it is in fact because we all know they can be when they shouldn't.

      Some folks act as if what they say with their mouth should never be the cause of someone hurting them, yet the Bible is a very old book and a long time ago it said, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech."  (Psalm 34:12-16 quoted in I Peter 3:10)  I know some folks would like to live as if what they say and do is completely protected by either the law, or by a culture they imagine they live in, but there are lions in the world, snakes, Manta Rays, and people who just don't give a damn.

    The events in Ferguson are yet to be legally verified.  Policemen especially are and should be held to a higher standard of professionalism and training (and accountability) in how to deal with people who won't obey their lawful commands, or who resist them, if indeed they have done so.  None of us wants a police officer  to be the judge, jury, and executioner of our citizens, let alone our children. 

     At the same time all of us have to realize, and teach our children, that policemen are inherently dangerous because they carry weapons that can end our lives.  For the sake or our own protection we must not taunt them, or give them excuse to use those weapons against us.  We all have to admit that even when we are totally compliant with the law injustice or tragedy might still befall us.

     Maybe you wish this wasn't so, maybe you think that the police should obey the law even when you don't, maybe you think that somehow they are better people than you are, but if in fact the conflict  between Michael Brown and a police officer was because Michael was aggressive and/or non-compliant than all of us, and young people especially, need to take it to heart.  This is no excuse for the overreaction of the police, and we don't even know for sure yet why he drew his weapon.

    It is my fervent hope that we can make the police better in the performance of their duty, with safer results for the public and even those they are trying to police.  Let's try to bring officers to account if they overstep their bounds.  Yes, I couldn't agree more, but if understanding human nature gives us any wisdom we must realize that if any conflict is our fault then we have to be aware of the possibility of overreaction by others. 

     People are sinners, they screw up, and sometimes they sin in reaction to our sin.  I know that injustice occurs even when we do everything right but our behaviors matter and it is only a fool who thinks they don't.  Many of us were foolish young but some will never get the chance to learn from their mistakes.

SOMETIMES A CAR HAS MORE THAN ONE FLAT TIRE

    This is the second in a short series concerning the killing in Ferguson, Missouri along with the issues of police practice and behavior, along with some comments about race and justice.   In the previous article I said that we need "great" police, not just those who are adequate.

    The people who are protesting, marching, and possibly some of those who are rioting and looting in Missouri are dealing with a recent and local situation.  However, the explosion of emotion across the country reveals that this is not simply a local incident but one that resonates in many communities across the nation.  The frustration of how black men are dealt with by the police in general, how many of them are profiled, pulled over, frisked, treated as if guilty, manhandled and disrespected is a wide spread and fairly consistent occurrence.  

    Unfortunately there is another far too consistent dynamic. Young black men without jobs, without good home training, with little respect for authority, with an aggressive and combative attitude, in a competitive culture with other such young men that reward thug and tough guy behavior.  The underbelly of all of this publicity about St. Louis is that black men are far more likely to be killed by other black men than the police.

    It is nice to be simplistic, but this drama gets played out far too often for us to settle for solutions that only deal with one side of a multi-sided problem.  Sometimes there is more than one flat tire on a car. If we could make all white policemen to no longer have racism or bias in their hearts would that solve all the problems?  If we could make all police departments have great leadership, wise and judicious policies of how to police, training that put citizens first and not just the safety of police officers, would that solve all the problems?  If we made sure every police department had exactly the right racial and gender mix, would that give us peace and justice in our communities?  If every black man had a great education, wonderful parenting, a good job, and constant public civility with presentable clothing, would that end the killing?

    If we had the best of all of those things we would still have the reality that even good people make mistakes.  Mistakes coupled with the technology of weapons; pepper spray, tasers, police clubs and the technique of choke holds means people might still die.  Yet, I am sure it would happen far less often if we had the best in people, and from people, and from institutions and communities.

    Good policing in a community depends on the support of the community.  Our police forces are not occupying armies, though some departments and communities might seem to be in that kind of negative relationship.  Good policing must take it for granted that some of the folks they deal with are "bad actors."  These folks will not cooperate, they will not surrender, they will not behave.  

    Good police training should teach officers how to arrest, and if necessary, subdue such individuals without the deprivation of a suspect's human rights.  When I read of how police officers testify that they used practices they were trained in but still result in harm, insult, injury and even death to members of the public, and that they are vindicated hiding behind such training, it leads me to believe something is perverted and non-sensical about such training.  This is where there needs to be far more dialogue between the public and the police, and training needs to focus more on preserving life then finding excuses for taking it.

    Sometimes with all the best training, and all the best motives, someone innocent might die not to mention those who must be killed to stop them from killing others.  This is tragic, but cannot be a cause for national unrest or grief.  What is a cause for national grief, as well as shame, is a too often result of unarmed men beaten down, choked to death, or shot because they are black, or big, or simply scary and  uncooperative.

    I want to advocate for moving toward the best outcomes for all of us in this nation.  Human beings without prejudice and a biased hostility, especially in those who have police authority.  I want to advocate for smart, wise, and humane leadership in police leadership and training.  I want to advocate for marriage, and good education, and deliverance from poverty, and wonderful parenting, and a rejection of drugs, gangs, and thug violence in what are now poor black communities. 

     I think we as a nation should want and pursue all of those things at the same time.  I also think we need to learn how to analyze bad events with patience, humility, wisdom, and a passionate commitment to justice without jumping to conclusions or additional violence.

WE NEED OUR POLICE TO BE GREAT AT WHAT THEY DO.

    If there is anything good about the terrible events in Ferguson, Missouri it might be that the nation is having to discuss the issue of how the police interact with the community which they are to 'protect and serve."  

   There are several sub-plots to this story.  One of the main ones is how white police officers deal with young black men, or black people in general.  Another sub-plot is how police conduct is a product of their leadership, training, policing policies, and/or their personal bias, fears, and momentary reactions.  One other sub-plot is how personal behavior may or may not help us avoid dangerous situations.  I hope to discuss these things in a few articles.

    This year for some reason we seem bombarded with terrible police decisions, often accompanied by video, that show abuse, brutality, and even murder.  One of the consistent dynamics of the past has been the justification of such behavior, or the approval of juries, to let officers caught in obvious misconduct get away with their behavior.  Sometimes police departments have actually fired officers who went against official policy but have then seen courts remove consequences from such officers, and even allow officers to sue departments to get their jobs back.  

    As galling as that result might be it is equally disgusting to see many folks comment on public media how it is fitting that people who are being arrested, or black people in particular, deserve what they get and the police should in no way be criticized.  These comments often come after Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson show up for the cameras.

    America is a nation born out of resentment for the misuse and abuse of authority.  We have taken pains in our laws to protect ourselves from both the real and the vestigial aspects of tyranny.  We are so paranoid of authority we want the right to possess our own weapons, as if we could defeat the police, the army, and the black helicopters of the United Nations (if they could afford any.)  We want to possess them but we don't want our military to carry weapons in public, unless they are going to war against someone other than us.  Have you ever noticed soldiers you meet don't carry weapons, and that hardly anyone ever accuses them of abusing their authority inside our borders?  Consider yourself blessed.

    This is one reason police officers who oppress citizens are especially maddening, since we actually need these folks and usually hold them in very high regard.  The police are our employees, they are paid by us to do a service for us, and it is a public trust that we give them as they sacrificially risk their own lives to protect others.  It is an honorable profession, and these men and women are worthy of our respect, our prayers, and cooperation in the legal performance of their duties.

    But when that performance of duty is illegal, or racist, or simply brutal it puts citizens in a precarious situation.  How can we resist without breaking the law, how can we resist without getting ourselves killed or arrested?  This then becomes precarious for the police, for when the populace turns on them (and if higher authority does not intervene quickly enough public action is inevitable) violence is almost certain.  

    Police and police departments can be self-protective, circling the wagons, even covering up for out of control officers but eventually the public will not put up with it, nor should we expect them to do so.  It would be un-American.  Did you see all those militia types out in Nevada when the Feds wanted to move someone's cows?  Those people were ready to fight over property.  Is that more "American" than to be ready to fight over the murder of unarmed civilians who put their hands up in the air?

    We don't want anyone to fight, or to be violent, or use wicked means to respond to evil.  We do want justice!  We want our police to not just be adequate, we want them to be great at what they do, so that even against really nasty criminals they will know how to take action without giving way to their anger, bias, or frustration so as to deprive people of their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness without due process under law.

THE POWER OF MENTORING

I was speaking with a colleague in ministry the other day.  He seemed to be wondering if he was making any impact.  Sometimes I wonder the same thing.  I would imagine all of us in the ministry want our lives to count for God and His Kingdom.  I imagine most people want to feel their lives count for something, that they have been faithful. 

    My friend is in the ministry, but not a pastor at the moment, although he has been.  His job is now directed at raising up pastors, church planters, and helping them to be more effective.  Since I have known him for a long time, and know his work, I was able to rather quickly think of some of the positive effects of his life and ministry.  He wasn’t depressed, and I know he often struggles with this question, but I was so glad to realize and rejoice in some of the impact he has made and my hope for what his work will do in our denomination and for the Kingdom of God.

   However, my comments aren’t about him, but about the kind of work he does and why it is so valuable.  I speak here of the power of mentoring, or being a “door opener” for younger preachers, of being an interpreter of the system, of being an “introducer.”  I am sure there are plenty of younger men he has actually helped, and maybe that I have helped, that will never ascribe any of their success to us.  They say success has many authors but failure is an orphan.  Maybe so, and there is no attempt here to demand credit for anybody’s growth, achievement, or success.  What is here is the satisfaction that being a mentor makes a difference, that being an older brother has helped the younger, that some younger believers have been humble enough to seek out help and advice, and in their humility have honored us simply by requesting our help.

    I have realized over the years that there are always younger men in our denomination who want to feel significant; I was one of them too.  They struggle with knowing how to be recognized, wondering why their opinions, their voice, and their preaching is not sought out like others seem to be.  Sometimes these men begin to think there is some secret society that makes decisions on who to reward and who to keep obscure.  Sometimes some of these men feel they are inadequate in a comparison with the gifts of others.  These feelings can lead to some bitterness and cynicism.  The struggle with jealousy and envy inside us can be very real and pernicious.

    There is no doubt that the Lord does give some folks wonderful gifts of preaching, writing, and organizing, along with skills of marketing, and the wisdom of building a fast moving team.  The Lord sometimes creates circumstances that meet with a gifted person to help produce a fast growing church, and this in turn creates a reputation of success.  If we lack the blessing of one or both of those things (gifts or fortuitous circumstances) we can actually feel as if we are suffering and that God is not using us as we think he should.  If we have no friends, and no older mentors, we also might lack someone to help us interpret our own lives and ministries to ourselves.

    Some of us were able to build a cadre of friends at school or seminary that are still loyal to us, some of us had a pastor in our life who really spoke into our lives and helped point us in the right direction.  Some of us have older men in our lives who still think about us, pray for us, and give us counsel (even when we aren’t asking for it.)  The other day a man I have known since I was ten years old called me to check on me.  He is now in his eighties and I am in my sixties. He told me, “I still think of you as 14 years old.”  If he thinks I can make a difference somewhere he will contact me and tell me, if he thinks I am wrong about something he will not hesitate to speak into my life.  When we got off the phone with each other I had to reflect on what a blessed man I was to have someone like that in my life.  I have to admit I have been blessed to have a long roll call of men and women like that in my life.

    I speak here of the value of mentors, models, examples, friends, and people who love you enough to ask about you, or available to answer your questions.  I see the difference it makes in raising up new leaders, of helping them feel they have an ally and someone they can trust.  I have the significant privilege of younger men calling me to check up on me, to ask how I am doing, and to absolutely make me feel important by asking my advice.

     I love giving a verbal reference about some younger person I respect, and there are many who are so gifted and passionate that I have great hope for the Church of Jesus Christ.  I love being able to say, “have you met…, “ or “you should call…”   I am not a “godfather.”  I don’t have power to make or break people, I don’t want that power. I can’t put anything into someone they don’t have, or take it away either.

     I realize that I must be careful, as should we all, not to ever slander or seek to hurt someone’s reputation with negative comments loosely or carelessly spoken. I am honored to be able to make someone’s journey through the labyrinth of church credentialing and politics, or along Christian’s journey to the Celestial City, a little easier.   I would hope all of us older brothers would take on the responsibility of mentoring, coaching, counseling, and loving younger brothers and sisters along, and realize what a positive difference it makes.

      I would hope all of those younger would seek out those who could help them avoid battles they don’t have to fight, or realize there are some opinions and ideas that are just plain stupid and unhelpful, or that things aren’t so badly stacked against them as they suppose.  Most of all I would hope we could all point each other to Jesus, and the love and power he has decided to give us so freely.