June 1, 2016. I apologize for the long hiatus between posts. I've been on vacation. Now i might as well begin anew with a little controversy.
While preparing last week’s lectionary for a bible study on Luke
76:1-10, I realized the heart of
this passage is quite universal but particularly relevant to us East Tennessee Presbyterians by an event at the
May meeting of the Presbytery of East Tennessee.
Some background: The Presbytery
of East Tennessee has experienced a steady decline in giving from congregations
and membership for some time. During this period of decline the finance committee of the Presbytery is
seeking and authorized to maintain, at best, a status quo for the operational
structure by using funds designated for new congregational development and reducing funding for mission-oriented programs to keep operational programs funded. Three of these
missional programs are the ministries to the young people at the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville
and Chattanooga,
and the outdoor ministry of John Knox Center where youth
programs are conducted during the summer.
The reasons for the declining budget are well known. The membership of the
Presbytery (persons and congregations) is steadily declining and existing congregations
are not giving to the Presbytery at levels they contributed in the past. The
declining membership is related to the aging of the membership (the average age
of a Presbyterian is over 60) and its inability to bring into its membership
younger persons; and the loss of congregations. The declining giving is also
strongly influenced by the established congregations in the Presbytery that in large part have curtailed giving because they do not like changes in the existing Book of Order
that governs our polity, e.g., the national-level issues of the nature of
marriage, inerrancy and the like (but not our faith) and the inability of weaker congregations to
attract younger families.
The Presbytery took the visionary step to create a group called the Congregational
Development Team using assets held in trust from closing congregations. Its
task is perhaps the most important activity of the Presbytery operation, to
create healthy, new congregations.
The missional programs (the student ministries at the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville and Chattanooga, and the outdoor ministry of John Knox Center) having have the vitality of faith that they can survive by God’s will
seek to ensure their ministries continue to do this regardless of how the Presbytery
decides to use its received funds. (The CDT has applied some of its funds to
help these three missional activities.)
Very dynamic, creative and respected pastors and staff lead the two
student ministries. (Full disclosure: my wife is one of the UTC staff and I lead
a Hope 808 program on Theology and Science.) I know by first hand experience
that the UT/Chattanooga ministry weekly welcomes 100’s of students negatively
disposed towards the conventional, organized “religion” through its grace and
strong Christian presence. It is a haven of grace peace in a culture of
judgment that has changed the perception of “Christian ministry” on that
campus. These students particularly represent the missional focus that is the
future of congregational vitality in PC(USA).
A motion came to the floor of the Presbytery to form a study committee
comprised of a group of all involved parties to determine how we might go about
establishing an endowment to support these ministries that the Presbytery is
rapidly defunding in favor of operational expenses. For reasons known only to
them, the Finance Committee opposed this effort and had a substitute motion
approved hat removed the CDT from participation contingent on a motion it has
yet not presented to or the Presbytery voted on, saying the finance committee alone had the responsibility to
determine how funds are used.
The most troublesome primary concern of the finance committee is its
statement “the finance committee needs to control the money” in order to sustain
the status quo of the Presbytery operation. (By the way, for many years there
was only a voluntary Presbytery operation.) The Finance Committee made no
mention of concern to sustain and nurture the calling of Christ’s church in
America to its mission.
The loss of congregations, lack of growth and ethics of existing
congregations that justify refusal to support the ministry of the church
because of polity arguments is the underlying spiritual sickness. As usual
money, fear and the absence of faith, as Jesus argues through Luke’s
words, are the underlying sickness.
In more common terms, when I hear folks justifying withholding money for
Christ’s church over dogmatic argument rather than its vocation, the truth of the
counsel of Cassius to Brutus leaps out at me, “The fault dear Brutus lies not
in the stars, but in our hearts.”
The problem rests on why we choose certain types of people to lead or shape
the actions of our denominational church who do not counsel against these acts. Financial experts, bless their
hearts, are very risk-averse people who worry about plusses and minuses and how
to manage money that is on hand.
My experience in business and church is that
creativity beyond balancing the books seems to scare them. While they represent
an essential, stabilizing and conservative force in an organization they should should
never be its leaders, especially in times of crisis. They are miserable at leadership in difficult times, and fear innovative ways to deal
with a crisis in the stability of the organization because most of those growth activities
involve some high level of risk (and faith) and have a long-term horizon for results.
Faith
never becomes part of the equation, only fear. Unfortunately, the Presbyterian
Church, like so many other Reformed and until recently the Catholic
denomination, seems overpopulated by leaders who are financial experts averse
to risk and change than by creative ministers committed to the calling of the
missional call of church no matter what travails they face. (Such a concern
about exploring new ways also faces groups like CDT that have a daunting
challenge before them to lead us to new growth.)
Leaders who are possessed by maintaining or suborning the status quo shirk
faith and succumb to fear. Change is the nature of the Reformed tradition.
Coming back to the lectionary passage, it is almost irresistible to read
the preceding nine verses that really set the stage for this story:
Luke 6:43 “No
good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; 44for
each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are
grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45The good person out of the good
treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure
produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth
speaks. 46“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I
tell you? 47I will show you what someone is like who comes to me,
hears my words, and acts on them. 48That one is like a man building
a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose,
the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been
well built. 49But the one who hears and does not act is like a man
who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst
against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.”
These verses, come at the end of a discourse about how the
Galilean ministry of Jesus is armed with
the power of the Spirit (4:1-14,
5:20-24). Chapter 7 is
a powerful exposition about the power of faith inspired by Jesus, essentially
reprising the words of John the Baptizer that something greater than John is at
work with Jesus.
In Luke 7:1-10, we have a soldier leader, a representative
of the Roman Empire who has such impeccable exterior credentials in the eyes of
the Jewish leaders that they recommend, or defend, him to Jesus.
Yet, this powerful centurion reacts in a way exceedingly
contradictory to his status and power. His interior sense of unworthiness in
the face of Jesus (and Jews?), “for I am
not worthy to have you come under my roof,” contradicts his worldly status.
This Roman centurion, a Gentile, actually threatens his
exterior status quo by following the call of his faith. He conveys a faith so
strong that he knows Jesus can act upon his request by voice without even
coming to see the centurion or his sick slave. Although the centurion conveys his
unworthiness it does not blind his faith.
Jesus and Luke do not let us forget what was said in verses 6:46-49, the parable about the
persons who built their house on solid rock or sand.
I suspect a description of faith as a truth that defeats
fear in the face of improbability is very difficult for many of us to grasp not
to mention to live. The passage reminds us about the limit of our own authority
as it points to John the Baptist who people confused to be Elijah or the
Messiah, yet John states one greater than he is coming. It also points to who Elijah put everything about faith in the
activity of the Lord on the line before the entire nation of Israel (1 Kings 18:20-39).
The centurion’s faith understood truly that Jesus is a power that defies
conventional wisdom and expectation. Is there any wonder about the amazement of
Jesus that this Gentile shows greater faith than the religious leaders around
him? I think I know where Richard Niebuhr stumbled upon his question, “When
the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
In a modern context of our Presbytery, should we look to see where we may find faith? Is there any
reason to doubt the leaders of these student ministries and the CDT have a
faith they will be sustained that is greater than the religious leaders around
them? Is there any doubt that perhaps they are the true “religious leaders,’ like the Roman centurion?
They understand and are humbled by the challenge of the
words of Jesus in 6:47-49 that
demand we rely not upon our own strength, but upon the Grace of God:
“I will show you what someone is like who
comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.” (Luke 6:47)
This is not the time to bury our money in the ground, to cut
our missional efforts and shore up our castle sinking in the sand, but to ask
how we may build on a foundation of faith in the grace of God that sustains
those who refuse to embrace the status quo and accept failure but a time to use our talents to grow Christ’s church as the Congregational Development Team is charged to
do.
Where do we stand here in East Tennessee? Do we fear of loss of
the status quo, or in the scary new solid ground of Christian faith that
accepts risk and loss of personal control
over destiny as a necessary part of faith?
I apologize for the repeated use of an old football image,
but the Lucan passage and the changes moved by the finance committee of the Presbytery
recall a conundrum turning about an old NFL Monday Night Football entree by
Frank Gifford and Hank Williams, Jr. and an old urban expression, “Are you ready (to play) football!,” or are
you ready to quit and take your ball and go home?
“When the Son of man comes, will he find
faith on earth?” is a serious question for us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment