Standing with Our Brothers and Sisters in Charleston

Charleston, SC. An historic black church gathered for Bible study. Into that sacred, safe, and historic space violence and hatred intruded last night. As a pastor, my heart goes out to this congregation who lost their pastor, and to the families of the wounded and slain.

Several weeks ago, I quietly joined the NAACP whose membership is open to anyone who values justice and equality. You can join the NAACP as an act of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Charleston, Ferguson, Detroit, New York, Chatham, and all across this land. Isn’t it time that white ministers and church members take a stand humbly in support of those who have been the target of racism and violence for over 400 years here in this country?

I invite you to join me in this silent, but meaningful action. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. invited white pastors and church members to join with him. Some did, most (especially in the South) did not. Go to naacp.org and join today.

Mark Driscoll, Let’s Talk!

I try not to react to everything I read on the internet, but sometimes something so egregious comes along that I have to respond. Recently Mark Driscoll, megachurch pastor, posted on his blog an article titled, Is God a Pacifist?

Driscoll is preaching through the 10 Commandments, and he has arrived at “Thou shall not kill.” I’m okay with his saying that this passage addresses murder–intentional and malicious killing. I’m okay with Driscoll pointing out various Old Testament texts that prescribe the death penalty for certain offenses within Old Testament Israel. And, I’m even okay with whatever his apocalyptic theology is, even though I don’t think the Book of Revelation is to be read literally. That, after all, is the nature of apocalyptic literature, but respected scholars and pastors hold different interpretions of Revelation.

None of that bothers me. He’s entitled to his opinion. However, Driscoll isn’t content with his interpretation of these passages. He has to go one step too far. He states that among the enemies Christ will destroy are those who believe that Jesus was a pacifist. Here’s the end of his article:

“Today is a season of patience as Jesus Christ waits for people to come to repentance. Jesus is not a pansy or a pacifist; he’s patient. He has a long wick, but the anger of his wrath is burning.

Once the wick is burned up, he is saddling up on a white horse and coming to slaughter his enemies and usher in his kingdom. Blood will flow.

Then there will be peace forever as the Prince of Peace takes his rightful throne. Some of those whose blood will flow as high as the bit in a horse’s mouth for 184 miles will be those who did not repent of their sin but did wrongly teach that Jesus was a pacifist.

Jesus is no one to mess with.”

Wow.

So, the early Church Fathers, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, the Quakers, the Mennonites, the Church of the Brethren, Leo Tolstoy, Dorothy Day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (oh yes, and forget the Hitler thing), Thomas Merton, and so on, are all enemies of Christ who will be slaughtered on the day of judgment? Just because they believed and lived a life of Christian pacifism?

Boggles the mind. Mark, come on, let’s talk.

Podcast: Living in Light of Easter

Now that Easter Sunday is behind us, what do we do next? How do we as followers of Jesus live in light of Easter’s message of hope and joy? In John 20:19-31 we read the story of Jesus’ first encounter with his disciples after his resurrection. This account is unique to John’s gospel and gives us insight into what Jesus intended for his disciples to do in light of his resurrection. The words of Jesus to his followers have implications for those of us who live in light of Easter, too. Here’s the link:  http://traffic.libsyn.com/chuckwarnock/02_Living_in_Light_of_Easter.mp3

Podcast: After 9/11, Forgiveness Cancels A Debt

This is the podcast of the sermon I preached on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  I titled this sermon After 9/11 Forgiveness Cancels A Debt.  Appropriately the revised common lectionary Gospel reading for that day came from Matthew 18:21-35 which presents Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness.  I hope you find this helpful as you reflect on the ongoing tragedies that occurred on and after that sad day in the life of our nation and the world.

Sermon: From Darkness to Light

Here’s the sermon I’m preaching tomorrow titled, From Darkness to Light, based on Colossians 1:11-20.

From Darkness Into Light

Colossians 1:(9-10), 11-20 NIV

(9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,)

11 …being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Christ The King Sunday

We have come to the end of the lectionary cycle on this Sunday.  And, appropriately, this Sunday is called Christ the King Sunday; or, more recently it is referred to as The Reign of Christ Sunday.  Personally, I like “Christ the King” because it not only encompasses the reign of Christ, but leaves little doubt about the fact that Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Sermon: Beyond The World of Fires

After the resurrection, Jesus appears to the disciples, gives them the “peace of God” and sends them on the mission of God.

Beyond The World of Fires
John 20:19-31

19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Paying Attention to the Outrageous

Somebody did it again.  They compared one of our political leaders to Hitler.  It really doesn’t matter who did it because this is becoming a regular tactic for the extremists.  The frustrating thing is they get what they want — publicity.

The media pounce on their pronouncements as though the words they uttered were the first like them.  Bloggers and political sites pick up the refrain — “How dare they invoke the name of Hitler!” The outrage is palpable, and then the next day it starts all over again.

Frankly, I’m tired of it.  I’m tired of pop media personalities cheapening the tragedy of the Holocaust with their self-serving tirades.  If this is what passes for discourse and dialogue in America, we are at a new low.

But I also tell myself we must be on the cusp of change because so many are so afraid right now.  In times of turbulent change, the dividers voices are often the loudest.  It was that way during the Civil Rights struggle, it was that way during the Viet Nam war protests, and it’s that way again.

But I also know that the nascent signs of change in churches are encouraging.   Multi-ethnic congregations are blossoming, and new expressions of church are springing up in unlikely places.  Multi-culturalism is becoming almost as popular a topic among church conference planners as multi-site strategies.  More and more congregations are moving out into their communities, connecting with new groups of people who are helped, and who in turn change the helpers. Just as some courageous churches led the way in seeking justice for African-Americans, and later in seeking peace, these churches are the bellwether for change in our society.

That’s what we should be paying attention to — this new consciousness that I have not seen before in so many churches.  A consciousness of need, but of more than need.  An awareness of our responsibility as followers of Jesus to make a difference in the lives of people around us.  Next week I’m speaking to Duke Divinity School students about rural church ministry.  I’m going to talk about this new thing I see happening because it is unprecedented.

Examples emerge in unlikely places.  A church heals its community by planting a community garden in the wake of a local murder.  Another church reaches out to bikers and blue collar workers, not just for worship, but to help create jobs for them.  Churches feed people now in towns where before that need went unmet.  Kids are given school supplies, and encouraged to come after school for tutoring to an urban church that provides a safe haven until their working-class parents get home.

Change must be on the way because the voices of fear are growing louder and more shrill each day.  That’s the reason I pay attention to the outrageous statements of those publicity seekers.  I pay attention because I believe their outrageous statements carry with them a harbinger of hope, an indicator of impending change.   Let’s hope so, and let’s find a place to bring about that change.

Cluster bombs, landmines target people

 Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.”  As followers of Christ, we need to be praying and working for peace.  In the midst of a world in which war is often the first resort, we have an obligation to humanity.  While we may not be able to bring peace fully and finally, we can work to minimize the destructive inhumanity of war.

In the recent conflict in Georgia, Russia dropped cluster bombs.  Cluster bombs are arrayed to scatter destruction like a shotgun blast.  Their only purpose is to kill people.  Cluster bombs are not the weaponry of choice to take down bridges, buildings, or blow up bunkers.  They are people-killers, plain and simple.  Turn off your “safe search” and google “cluster bombs” for images that will horrify you — children with legs and arms blown off, corpses reduced to smoldering lumps of flesh.  The effect is nauseating.  

Amazingly, 107 countries have signed a treaty banning cluster bombs.  China, Russian, and the United States are among the leading nations that have not signed the treaty.  Click here for a global map identifying countries that have signed the treaty.  

What can you do?  Learn about the devastation caused by cluster bombs.  Several sites provide information.  One compelling organization is called Survivor Corps, founded by Jerry White whose leg was blown off by a landmine in 1984.  Jerry White is a survivor and has rallied other survivors of landmines and cluster bombs to speak out against their use.  Amazingly, the US is not a signatory to even banning landmines.  Jerry White was a co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, and speaks with authority and passion on this subject.  His book, I Will Not Be Broken, is must-reading for those interested in being peacemakers in a world where life is cheap, and war is easy.  You may be new to this idea of peacemaking on an international scale, but there are steps we can take to make the voice of peace heard across the globe.  I hope you’ll take time to click the links, learn about these dangerous, destructive weapons, and add your voice and prayers to the growing call for peace.