Actions Speak Louder than Words

I had the opportunity to write the ELCA Faith Lens for this week.  Here's what I came up with, while on a late-night writing binge with my friend Jake.

Warm-up Question

Have you been surprised by the words or actions of a stranger?

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

New York City Transit bus drivers are scared and upset.  In the first eight months of the year, 58 drivers were assaulted while driving their routes.  Maria Hogan is one driver who is unsure if she will be going back to work any time soon.

“I have bruises on my arms and legs,” she said.  Hogan believes the rider was angry because she skipped a stop in the Fordham section of the Bronx which was closed because of construction.  When she reached the next stop, she says he punched her and left.

Many of the assaults have occurred on the Bx9 route, which runs through the Bronx.  Although MTA officials would not yet say which routes are most dangerous, the bus drivers’ union said the Bx9 is one of the worst and management is not doing enough.

“That particular location is a hot spot,” said Tony Aiken of the Transport Workers Union. “If you don’t have the partitions there, work with police department, work with your security department. Work with anybody who is going to go out there and make us feel safe.”

An MTA spokesperson offered a brief statement, “This past weekend’s assault is an outrageous insult to the thousands of transit workers who serve the public every day.  We are working closely with TWU to develop barriers to protect the drivers.”

Union officials said that is not good enough.

“Actions speak louder than words, not words without action,” said Aiken.

Discussion Questions

• Would you return to your job if you had been attacked in the workplace?
• What do you think should be done to protect the bus drivers?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, September 25, 2011)

Ezekiel 18:1-4

Philippians 2:1-13

Matthew 21:23-32

Gospel Reflection

Jesus has a lot to say in these verses.  As he often does, Jesus saves his most challenging words for the religious leaders.  The chief priests and elders want to know who authorized the healing and teaching Jesus has been doing.  He realizes that they are trying to trick him into answering a question that has no satisfactory answer.  So, instead, he dodges their questions about authority and tells a story.

The story is about words and actions.  A man tells his sons to go to work for him.  The first one declines, but later changes his mind and does what his father asked him to do.  The second one agrees, but decides to skip out.  Jesus indicates that the first son – the one who said “no” at first – did the will of his father.  From there, he compares the religious leaders to the second son.  They say words that sound impressive to the people, but Jesus thinks their actions aren’t consistent with their words.  He even takes it a step further, indicating that the lowest-of-the-low (tax collectors and prostitutes) will get into heaven before these religious leaders.

“Actions speak louder than words” is an idea that is familiar to many people, but it can be difficult for grace-believing Lutherans to buy into.  We are wary of the notion that our salvation is dependent on our good deeds.  However, it’s important to note that the people whom Jesus is scolding are not beyond the reach of God’s love.  He doesn’t tell the religious leaders that they will be excluded from heaven, but they may have to wait a while.  Their great failing was complacency, believing that saying the right things was a substitute for daily obedience to God.

Perhaps Jesus isn’t talking about salvation; maybe he’s reminding God’s people to treat each other with kindness and love.  Our actions matter to God because God’s people matter to God.  As followers of Jesus, the tax collectors and prostitutes had committed themselves to a new way of life.  They were, by no means, a perfect group, but they were honest about their need for a Savior.  Conversely, the chief priests and elders said a lot of impressive things, but their actions did not match their confession.  They were deeply connected with the corrupt government that made the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Jesus is calling us to a life where both our words and actions matter.  The things we say and do reflect the One who has calls us by name, gathers us into a community of faith, and sends us out to do God’s work in the world.

Discussion Questions

•  Why do you think Jesus is so frustrated with the religious leaders?
• What is Jesus saying about words and actions in the father/sons parable?
• Which is easier for you – good words or good deeds

Activity Suggestion

Think of something your congregation talks about doing as part of its mission and ministry but rarely has time for.  Create an action plan and start implementing it in future weeks.

Closing Prayer

God, help us to honor you with our lips and our lives.  Amen.

Counseling

Jon Acuff over at Stuff Christians Like asks a good question -- "Why are Christians so weird about counseling?"



Perhaps Christians are just reflecting some of the cultural stigma that exist about weakness.  It's difficult to get ahead or be seen as a leader if you have to admit your brokenness.

An interesting conversation is unfolding in the comments section of the SCL blog.  Check it out!

Communication, Collaboration & Networks

The report of the LIFT Task Force includes a section called "Communication, Collaboration and Networks." I was given the opportunity to write this section. Though it's been edited to fit the structure of the final LIFT report, I thought I'd post the original version.

“The way we connect with one another and with the institutions in our lives is evolving. There is an erosion of trust in authority, a decentralizing of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater faith in one another.

Because of airplanes and telephones and now social media, human beings touch the lives of vastly more people than did our ancestors, who might have encountered only 150 people in their lifetime. Now the possibility of connection is accelerating at an extraordinary pace. As the great biologist E.O. Wilson says, ‘we're in uncharted territory.’” [1]

The rapid rate of change in society 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?

Changes in technology and communication have moved organizations from institutional structures to network structures.  [2]  One of the challenges for the church is that the larger cultural shift from institutional models to network models isn't fully realized yet.  Not everyone is convinced that networks are a good thing.  In some cases, these people will fight to preserve the structure they were raised with or were instrumental in creating.

The reality is that people make choices. The more we can engage in learning and doing – whether in worship, in serving or in prayer, the more vibrant will be our work and our faith.  

Imagine the possibilities if the the ELCA...

• Invited its members with a strategic communications background to create a high-touch, high-tech plan that incorporates methods and tools to connect with every aspect of the eco-system.

• Invited members to use their evangelical, missional imagination to embrace evolving and emerging forms of communication in their local context.

• Established a nimble denominational structure that gleaned from open-source, wiki, and Web 2.0 pedagogies to be the church in a rapidly changing world.

Dedication. Perseverance. Honesty.

Rarely do I encourage people to "stop what you're doing and read this article."  It's possible you won't like what I recommend...or that you're doing something even more important (like brain surgery or grief counseling or canning tomatoes).  

However, I encourage you to stop what you're doing and read Sally Jenkins' article about Pat Summitt - the greatest coach in women's college basketball history who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  

Oh, and grab a few tissues as well.

Last Thursday, Summitt, Barnett, and her 20-year-old son Tyler, who is a junior at the University of Tennessee, met with Chancellor Jimmy Cheek and Athletic Director Joan Cronan to inform them of her condition. Barnett warned Summitt that contractually school administrators had the right to remove her as head coach immediately. Instead, Cheek and Cronan listened to Summitt’s disclosure with tears streaming down their faces.

“You are now and will always be our coach,” Cheek told her. With the blessing of her university, she will continue to work for as long as she is able.

What's most amazing to me is her ability to be honest with the world about her disease.  It's easy to stigmatize people with an illness like dementia...especially people with high-profile jobs.  Kudos to her for telling her story, and for the university for standing by her.

Also, she has an amazing 20-year old son by her side:

“I followed her everywhere growing up,” Tyler says. “I followed her on bus rides, airplanes, in gyms and in locker rooms all over the country, and I thought she taught me everything she had. But she saved this lesson, to always come out and be open, to not be scared, to have the courage to face the truth like she’s doing.”

Jesus and Taxes

A conversation about money and politics played out on my Facebook news feed last week, as my friends shared their thoughts (and re-shared the thoughts of others) about how to solve our current "debt crisis."  


Three things caught my attention:


1.  Warren Buffett's op ed piece in the New York Times
His premise is simple - the "super rich" should pay more taxes to help reduce the national deficit.  It was fascinating to read of one of the wealthiest men in the world make a case for why people like him should shoulder more of the economic burden.


2.  Jon Stewart's Daily Show rant 
The Daily Show host offered some crass, sarcastic, enlightened additions to Buffett's piece a few days later...and took several shots at Fox News pundits (which is, pretty much, his m.o.)


3.  This nugget re-posted by several friends
"In the 1950s & 1960s, when the top tax rate was 70-92%, we laid the interstate system, built the Internet, put a man on the moon, defeated Communism, our education system was the envy of the world, our middle class thriving, our economy unparalleled.  You want that back?  Raise taxes on the rich."


* * * * * 


I'm not sure if raising taxes on the wealthy is the right thing to do.  I doubt it's the answer to our economic problems.  Additionally, I find it helpful to not demonize any group of people - rich or poor.  


I do know, however, that Jesus was pretty hard on rich people in his day.  He aligned himself with the poor and made it known how difficult it is for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven.  


It makes me wonder how followers of Jesus are to consider such matters, based on his teachings.  


Give to Caesar what is Caesar's?  
You will always have the poor with you?  
Sell all you own and give to those in need?  
Blessed are you who are poor...but woe to you who are rich?  


I imagine a biblical / theological argument could be made on both sides.  

What do you think?  Where is Jesus in the midst of this conversation?

Genetics and the Future of the Church

Two of the key items on the agenda at the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly were (1) the report and recommendations made by the LIFT (Living Into the Future Together) Task Force and (2) the proposed Social Statement on Genetics.

Both received more than 90% approval from the voting members, which is wonderful.  (Full disclosure - I was on the LIFT task force and my dad was on the Genetics task force.  I am proud of the work done by these two groups and believe that the Spirit was at work in the midst of their deliberations.)

If you are one of the millions of Lutherans that haven’t read either/both of these documents, here’s one man’s summary:

LIFT

• communal contextual discernment is key to mission interpretation
• flatter more nimble church structure by moving toward networks
• synods working with congregations to establish mission covenants
• temporary moratorium on social statements
• congregations lifted up as centers of ministry and mission
• elimination of program committees

Genetics 

• defines koinonia as the entire community of life, not just humans
• precautionary principle is key to seeking wisdom
• pursue sufficiency, sustainability, solidarity, participation, and precaution
• “The human vocation, in an age of unprecedented power, is to respect and promote the community of life with justice and wisdom.” ~ from the introduction during Plenary 2

Part Two coming tomorrow, with my thoughts on "what does this mean?" in the days ahead.

We're From Iowa

We're entering into the worst six months to be an Iowan.

The unofficial launch of the 2012 Presidential Campaign happens February 6 at the Iowa Caucus.  For the next 180 days, aspiring presidents, national news media, and far too many advertisements will descend upon our fair state.  The caucus is good for the economy and gives lots of free publicity to our businesses, schools, and people.

Sadly, there is some residual damage as well.  Every day, attention-seeking wackos come out of their compounds with big signs and loud megaphones, single-handedly casting Iowans as buffoons with no sense of social decorum.  The caucus also means Iowans spend 15 months wading in the murky, toxic waters of the American political system...which gives a lot of time for families, friends, neighbors, and church-goers to focus on our ideological differences.

Backlash has been mounting for years from people who think Iowa (a state with fewer than 3,000,000 people and only 7 electoral votes) is given too much power by being the first state to begin narrowing the field of presidential candidates.

Even religious folks, like Tony Jones, are hopping on the anti-Iowa bandwagon.  He recently decreed that he's "sick and tired of Iowa" and that "Iowa needs to get over itself."

How come?

"Iowa is really white" and "Iowa's Republicans are primarily conservative."

Oh...of course.

*sigh*


NPR debunks some Iowa myths in the Five Things You Got Wrong piece.  Certainly worth the read.

The growing Des Moines metro area has a lot going for it as well.  (Did you know Des Moines, IA is the #1 city in the nation for Young Professionals and #2 for Business and Careers according to Forbes?)

Iowa is a great place to live, work, receive an education, and raise a family.  There are a lot of intelligent people who are prepared to make thoughtful decisions at the caucus next February.  I hope we'll prove the haters wrong in the next 180 days.

then again...when I see stuff like this, I wonder if the haters might be right about us.