Take a Walk

Last night at youth group we took a step (actually, several steps) outside our comfort zone.  We took a walk on the "rough side of town."

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First, a bit of backstory...

When our church used to make an annual trip to Jackson, MS one of the things we would do on our first day was to walk around the neighborhood in small groups.  The purpose of this activity was to become familiar with our surroundings, see some of the work our mission partner was doing in the community, and address our pre-conceptions about "poor black people in the South."

The only thing that was awkward about these walks was the Tourist Factor: the peculiar feeling of observing your surroundings without gawking.  Let's face it, if a group of young people came trolling through my neighborhood -- looking, talking, and acting differently than my neighbors and me -- I would wonder what was going on.

While doing these walks I thought it would be fascinating to do a similar thing back home.  Des Moines isn't a big city (500,000 people in the metro area), but it certainly has distinct ethnic and socio-economic pockets.  A majority of the young people in our congregation come from upper-middle class, white households and have parents with a college education.  For whatever reason, I never remembered to do this kind of activity upon our return...

Earlier in the week, I had a conversation with a friend who had lived in Des Moines for 25+ years, but had never been in neighborhoods on the east-side of town.  I found it strange; and yet I realized that there was never a need for him to go anywhere outside of the western suburbs...aside from an occasional trip downtown for a little cultural excursion.  All of his needs and wants were met within a three-mile radius of his home.

* * * * *

Which brings us back to Sunday night youth group.

Three days of rain made it difficult for us to carry out our original activity (tending to a garden), so I asked if the group of six freshmen and one senior if they would be interested in taking a walk in a part of town they hadn't been before.  They were up for it, especially once I told them that food would be involved.  We drove down University Avenue, up M.L. King, and east on Forest Ave. to 6th Ave.  Throughout the drive, I asked the young people to pay attention to their own emotions in the midst of our journey.

We parked at St. Vincent De Paul, walked past the Salvation Army and Bethel Mission, then by the Catholic Worker House, and around the vacated Top Value Foods.  There was lots of good conversation about these organizations during our supper at McDonald's.  We then walked up 5th Street past several homes in need of repair.  We (understandably) received strange looks and a few horn honks from passers by as we completed the loop back to St. Vincent's.

There was more discussion on the way back to church about what they observed and how they felt.  One lamented the condition of the streets in the neighborhood.  Another noticed lots of litter around businesses and homes.  Yet another articulated they felt out-of-place.  I was grateful for their honesty and for their willingness to try something new and uncertain.

I don't know that it was a major, life-changing experience for these young people.  Maybe it will lead to a desire for individuals (or our entire group) to volunteer one of the organizations we talked about.  Hopefully it will humanize "those poor people" on the other side of town.  Like most things in youth ministry, it will take time to see what, if any, fruit comes from the seeds that were planted.

Tweeting the Death of Osama Bin Laden

When my wife told me Sunday evening that Osama Bin Laden was killed, I immediately went to Twitter. I knew the President would eventually make a speech that would deliver the details of how it all went down, but I wanted to see what the folks in my social network were tweeting. Here are a few of the more interesting tweets (or re-tweets) that my friends posted shortly after the first report:

@mclanea - Chuck Norris & Geraldo tracked and killed Osama Bin Laden

@chadholtz - Trump will want the long form for the death certificate

@chrisjonesuw - Ten years, trillions of $$, millions of lives lost. But at least War on Terror is over now, Right?

@andydaglas - If bin Laden is dead, I want the announcement to be followed by Obama dropping the mic and strutting off stage.

@revmelissa - Yet, I still cannot rejoice in killing.

@michaelgraham - 2nd time in two nights that Obama crushes Trump on live tv.

@thelepper - I have a hard time celebrating anyone's death, regardless of the circumstances.

@brianstelter - NBC's Richard Engel: "This ends a chapter in the global war on terrorism which has defined a generation."

@tiredkate - wonders if Bin Laden's death will actually change anything or if we will just think it does...

@andrewkarrmann - Usama? #reallyfoxnews?

@bobpowers - "I loosened it." -Bush

@benbadler - You're next, Carmen Sandiego

@muiz - "Bin Laden...forced a generation of young Muslims inc myself to publicly justify our identity - his death will not change this."

@jimgaffigan - Hey @BarackObama please start talking. CNN is embarrassing themselves.

@theimageoffish - Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble -Prov 24:17

@blakehuggins - the vile compulsion of american jingoism never ceases to amaze me. nor do the orgasmic reactions, we've willingly sacrificed our imagination

@stevenash - sicne we caught Osama do I still have to take my laptop out at security?

@ohxjulie - President Obama: "The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam" This is the message Americans need to hear the most.

@makeesha - I prly will not mourn for Osama bin Laden but I will not celebrate his death either. I hope our response as Americans elevates our humanity.

@jimgaffigan - Nice job @BarackObama, CIA, and armed forces. Pakistan, I'd like to talk to u in my office.

@jakebouma - "And so his death should be welcomed by all those who believe in peace." Uhhh... #cognitive dissonance

@choptedallen - Does this mean I can wear my effing shoes through TSA security again? ;)

@Adam_Jacobi - CNN reports Obama wrote the address himself. Just something all y'all congratulating his speechwriter might want to know.

@jonathanstegall - If Obama wins re-election, I think it will be more for this than for trying to give universal healthcare. We are a country of revenge.

@clarkekant - Fox News reporting Barak Hussein Obama authorizes the killing of a homeless man with kidney disease.

@gtal13 - Ps 139:21-2 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hatred.

@ohxjulie - Very rarely am I so conflicted in regards to what it means to be truly faithful.

Would you like to add your thoughts?

LIFT Report

Denominations are a quirky thing. At their best, these structures are a faithful way to make order out of chaos for the sake of the gospel. At their worst, they are clunky, oppressive, and debilitating.

It was with this in mind that I agreed 16 months ago to serve on an ELCA task force called Living Into the Future Together (LIFT): Renewing the Ecology of the ELCA. I was fascinated to see the many ways in which this particular denomination tries to navigate the turbulent waters of the post-institutional 21st century. As the junior member of the task force, this experience was an eye-opening discovery of the inner-workings of the largest Lutheran denomination in the world; it was a process that was equal parts frustrating and inspiring.

Last week, the LIFT task force signed off on a 100-page report & recommendations that represent our attempt to address our two guiding questions:

1. What is God calling us to be and do in the future?
2. What changes are needed to accomplish these tasks most faithfully?

This document now belongs to the ELCA Church Council and will be presented to the 2011 Churchwide Assembly this summer in Orlando.

One of the key findings in our research is the gap between clergy and lay leaders on what the priorities of the church should be. This tension will likely play out in how the final report and recommendations are received. I'm sure many key leaders in the denomination (bishops, educators, churchwide staff, pastors, etc.) will give careful scrutiny to the document. I will be interested to see how many "average pew-sitters" will take time to read it.

Media, Medium, Message

Jake Bouma and I recently had the opportunity to share a presentation called "Media ~ Medium ~ Message" at the Day of Renewal for rostered leaders in the Northeastern Iowa Synod.  We are grateful for the warm reception we received from this group of ELCA pastors.

Here was the pre-event description:

You've probably noticed the rapid rate of change in society.  Right or wrong, this impacts our ministries in significant ways.  The Internet is altering human behavior like nothing since the printing press.  The fastest growing faith group is those who are "spiritual but not religious."  Where is the church in all of this?  What is our witness to the world?  What is God calling us to be and do in the future?  What changes are needed in order to make God's call a reality?  We will explore these questions and offer thoughts about relational ministry, social media, and the future of Lutheran ecclesiology with a post-modern spin.  

You are welcome to download a pdf of our presentation slides.  (Not all of them will make sense removed from the context of the spoken words.)

Additionally, we had fun showing these two video clips during the intermission.





This was a great experience for us; one we look forward to replicating in other settings the months to come.

Reaching Out...To Whom?

Chuck Klosterman was on Bill Simmons' podcast earlier this week talking about the greatest game ever invented - basketball.  About an hour into the conversation, their attention shifted to marketing professional teams and how management styles will need to change based on the impending NBA lock-out.  In classic Klosterman fashion, he takes a topic and offers an obscure analysis that ends up making total sense to me.

I feel like the problem with sports leagues is the idea that they need to expand their fan base to people who don’t really like the sport.  The idea that somehow watching a basketball game isn’t interesting enough for a lot of people.  If we’re going to have a real wide audience, we need to appeal to people who don’t like the game.  And any time any product tries that – whether it’s basketball, music, film, religion – when the idea becomes that for this to be successful we need to appeal to people who don’t really care, it gets worse.  The NBA is too concerned with people who don’t really like pro basketball.

When people freaked out when Jordan retired the 2^nd time, and there was this idea that there was no interest in the league, and that ratings are down, and all these things.  And it was because the people they were losing were not people who liked basketball, they liked Michael Jordan – the persona of this guy.  I wish leagues were less interested in people who are uninterested in the league.

If you can get a guy to go to the game, and he can also bring his wife and two kids, even though 3 of the 4 people in the car driving to the arena would rather be doing something else, because they’re charging those people $80 to get in or whatever, they’re like 'let’s find ways to do that.  Let’s play music during the game or get the cheerleaders to shoot t-shirts out of those guns at the audience, because that’s going to make a nine-year old kid who’d rather look at his phone, want to go to this basketball game.'

Naturally, my ears perked up when Klosterman inserted religion to a conversation about basketball.  He's clearly annoyed with organizations that go out of their way to attract people that wouldn't otherwise be interested.  Frankly, I'm kind of annoyed with the need of our churches to create new programs, gimmicks, or hooks to get erstwhile disinterested people to show up.

Two things jumped out at me in his rant.  First, it's interesting to replace "Michael Jordan" with "beloved Pastor _____" and consider the implications.  Second, I wonder how many families attend church in the same way Klosterman's fictitious family attended a basketball game.  That last paragraph might read:

If you can get a lady to go to worship, and she can also bring her husband and two kids, even though 3 of the 4 people in the car driving to the church would rather be doing something else, because adding to the number of people in worship and put a few bucks in the offering plate, they’re like 'let’s find ways to do that.  Let’s show video clips in worship or have the youth group play wacky games, because that’s going to make a nine-year old kid who’d rather look at his phone, want to go to church.'

The fundamental question worth asking is, "should churches bother reaching out to people who don't want to be there in the first place?"  Is marketing the same as evangelism and outreach?  What would happen if our churches stopped employing "attractional" models of ministry and focused on a basic, stripped-down, rudimentary expression of our theology and doctrine.  Would that be too stale or boring?  Do we need to offer high-tech worship services, quality programs, and modern facilities reach out to new people for the sake of the gospel?

Darn you, Chuck Klosterman...

Betwixt City and Suburb

Carol Howard Merritt wrote a great piece addressing shifts in religious culture.  You can read the entire article at The Alban Institute's site.  I particularly resonated with this section:

I cannot remember a time when the church was the hub of society and life. I was born in the 1970s, part of Generation X. I never lived in a church-centered world. When older members of my congregation tell me about it, I can imagine what it might have been like, just as I can envision a time when people went to church three times a week. But I have never lived in that reality. I’ve always been in a culture where church was a place my friends visited on Christmas Eve—and now even that tradition is beginning to fade. I grew up in the midst of church news filled with clergy affairs, prostitution, and pedophilia. Throughout most of my ministry, I have worked in the shadow of these dark wounds of Christianity, laboring in a world in which the church is renowned for its sex scandals and conservative politics, a world in which people proclaim, “Religion poisons everything.” 

This is the culture I know. And this, strangely, is the place I feel most comfortable. It is not that I am happy about our current circumstances but simply that I have not experienced anything else. When I introduce myself as a pastor at parties or neighborhood gatherings, I encounter little awe or respect. Instead, I am met with a ravenous curiosity, as if people did not even realize it was still possible to make that career choice.

Much of her focus is placed on the ethos of urban (shrinking, established) and suburban (growing, young) contexts.  She describes Millennial culture as wanting "meaningful worship, an empowered lay leadership, and a spirituality that leads to action...the very things that many denominational churches have been cultivating for decades."  As one who serves a church in the great in between - neither near the urban center or on the outskirts of town - I wonder what the future holds.  We don't have the allure of a revitalized downtown that's close to businesses, concert halls, sports arenas, and funky loft apartments.  On the other hand, our neighborhood is land-locked and removed from the shiny new schools, homes, and shopping campuses that still attract young families en masse.

If nothing else, Merritt's excellent article is a reminder that we are called to be better connected to the people around us and discern how God is calling us to act relationally with the people in our neighborhood.  

What creative and redeeming work is God doing through your faith community?

LIFTing with LYO

Some people have been critical of the lack of youth and young adults on the ELCA's LIFT Task Force...a group that is studying the "eco-system" of the church and making recommendations for the future.  Though it's frustrating being the youngest member of the task force, I'm grateful that, in many ways, the real work of the LIFT initiative doesn't take place in board rooms and conference calls.  It occurs throughout the entire eco-system; in congregations, homes, synod groups, colleges, camps, etc.  We all bear responsibility for discerning what God is calling us to be and do in the future.

I've enjoyed several opportunities in the last few months to be about this kind of conversations.  The most recent of these conversations took place at the NE Iowa Synod Lutheran Youth Organization Assembly in Mason City, IA.  This event is near and dear to my heart, as it was the site of the first assembly I attended as a member of the synod LYO board 16 years earlier.

For my part, the pieces I used to talk about the LIFT Task Force were similar to the ones incorporated at the Oregon LYO Assembly.  One of my favorite exercises is, after an Acts 2 Bible study, to ask small groups of kids to make three lists.

1. Essential elements of a 21st century church
2. Helpful, but not essential, elements
3. Elements that are neither helpful nor essential

Here are some of the themes that emerged from the "essential ~ helpful ~ neither" activity.

• God's Word and faithful people are required to "be church"; but a church building isn't.
• Leaders were considered essential; Pastors were considered helpful.
• Sacraments are central to a faith community.
• Money, music, food, and programs are helpful in proclaiming the gospel, but not essential.
• Several groups lifted up the importance of acts of service and outreach.
• Technology was considered helpful, but the overuse or idolization technology is not.
• Robes, fancy clothes, and sermon notes were popular items on the neither list.

It was a joy to be with these young people and their adult leaders.  They had lots of fun talking, learning, swimming, singing, dancing, and playing together.  I remain pleased and grateful that so many young people have a deep and genuine care for the future of our church.  I pray that we continue to make room for their voices to be heard in our congregations, synods, and throughout the whole church.