Wondering Thoughts

My sermon from Sunday

I recently discovered Vimeo video service when launching a new website for Crossings with Cloversites.com.  The Plus service is loading our videos quickly, but even the basic/free service has lots of bells and whistles.  We are posting videos each week on our site, but I may post them here as well.  Here is the one from last Sunday:

"Walking With Heartburn" from john henson on Vimeo.

Lunch with Dr. Dilday

Dr. Russell Dilday was guest preacher in our Sanctuary service today. He is a Baptist hero to Jinny and me. He was our President while we attended Southwestern Seminary, until the fundamentalist takeover.

On A Mid Day Run

Keillor. Pat Metheny radio. Flowerbed lillies. Honeysuckle. God.

All speaking to me today on my mid day run.

What Some Christians Are Doing For the Earth

I just read this on Emergent Village and wanted to post it to show what examples of what some Christians are doing to make this world a better place.

Weblog » Emergent Village » Meet the "Brazilian Shane Claiborne"

Picture I Took Today

I passed this while making a visit to a member in ICU at Christus Schumpert Hospital. Beautiful woodwork and excellent placement.

Why is Church Always Behind

Why is the church typically behind on things like environmental issues, global warming, slavery, AIDS and justice issues?  With Earth Day approaching tomorrow, I'm sure there will continue to be Christians who choose to ignore it or dismiss environmental concerns as part of a left-wing agenda; that the science is false and that we are just in one of those cycles and at some point the glaciers will come back and endangered species will redevelop, etc.

A recent poll was done of 1000 pastors in re: to global warming and it is disturbing to read the high numbers of Christians who deny that a problem exists:  Asked to indicate their level of agreement with the statement, "I believe global warming is real and man-made," pastors split down the middle: 47 percent agree either strongly or somewhat, while 47 percent disagree either strongly or somewhat. The remainder indicate "don’t know." 

This is just one of many indicators out there that the church--particularly evangelical and Baptist--is still asleep on this issue.  Such slumber or denial is detrimental to the Christian witness and prevents the church of today from being a voice of justice (I do believe the environmental crisis is a justice and therefore a Kingdom issue) and from being the vanguard Jesus desired her to be.  It is encouraging, though, that some evangelicals are accepting the scientific facts and getting a voice.

It is worth noting that Christians have made a monumental difference in history on issues--like slavery and poverty-- of the day, but usually only after organizations outside the church have done the trailblazing. As I read the gospels, I see a Jesus whose desire it was for the church to be ever-present in the world as salt and light, leading the way in word and action to bring heaven to earth.  As I read the history of the church, I see that so many times the church is busy salting and lighting herself rather than being about the real work of the kingdom in the world.

Caring for creation is an issue that needs the church's voice and attention.  Today and tomorrow, I'll post some resources for Christians who see the problem and are ready to take action.  One good place to start is with:

The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University has a Moral Landscape of Christian Library that has a wealth of information about this issue.  I'll post other resources tomorrow.

Another good article is from the Guardian, "Just What Is It With Evangelicals and Global Warming?"

Best non-dairy "butter"

Salon's Take on the Christian Nation Discussion

Much is being said and has been written/posted about the Newsweek cover and article about the end of the Christian nation in the US.  As I mentioned in my previous post, it comes as no surprise.  I think its a great wake up call to Christians and a clarification of what folks engaged in the emerging church conversation have been pointing to for years.  The Salon article below takes a deeper look at the Christian nation myth and reveals why it and the Newsweek article are so unsettling to those whose worldview is based on a Christian nation.  

As a Baptist, I'm glad to see such reminders and to reflect on the religious liberty of our nation and the protection of it by our Constitution.  Even a scant reading of their writings and philosophies reveals many of them were anything but Christian as people use the term when referring to them, but one thing they were was understanding of the precious freedom for all to practice or not practice religious faith.

We would do well to focus our Christian energies on learning how to be the good news of Jesus in our post-Christian world of today rather than bemoaning the fading status and population of adherents to Chrisitanity.  The world is still extremely interested in Jesus and we have the opportunity to give it a real glimpse.

America is not a Christian nation | Salon .

True, over the years since the founding, Christian nationalists have won a few victories -- inserting "In God We Trust" on our money during the Civil War in 1863, adding "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance during the Cold War in 1954. And there are legislative and military chaplains and ceremonial days of thanksgiving. But these are pretty feeble foundations on which to claim that the U.S. is a Christian republic.

The End of Christian America

Newsweek knew what they were doing when they rolled out their current edition this week with the cover article, "The End of Christian America."  Al Mohler is interviewed and weighs in on his thoughts about it all.  I'm glad to see he recognizes that we are in a post-Christian, post-church world these days and I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this report was his first indication of it.

Meacham: The End of Christian America | Newsweek Religion | Newsweek.com

"The most basic contours of American culture have been radically altered. The so-called Judeo-Christian consensus of the last millennium has given way to a post-modern, post-Christian, post-Western cultural crisis which threatens the very heart of our culture." When Mohler and I spoke in the days after he wrote this, he had grown even gloomier. "Clearly, there is a new narrative, a post-Christian narrative, that is animating large portions of this society," he said from his office on campus in Louisville, Ky.

The article fleshes out much of what is in the recent American Religious Identification Survey, showing fewer Americans identifying with Christianity and a great increase in the number of people who are unaffiliated with any faith.

It seems to me that most anyone who is online, reads the paper, watches TV or has conversation with people outside of the church would not find this to be a news item.  A great many Christians in the US, as well as throughout the world, have been working inside the new world for a long time, developing ways to live out the Christian faith in such a way that relates to a post-Church, post-Bible, post-etc. world. They are finding ways to have conversations with people without affiliated faith in a way that builds bridges and reveals Jesus with clarity and attraction. There is a sense of adventure and wisdom in these new Christians as they find the path of Jesus into this new, emerging world.

I'm hoping this will lead more folks like Mohler to move into the post-modern world with their faith in Christ and and openness to great conversations with post-moderns rather than retreating back into the safety of modern world.

Jinny's Interview

I put Jinny on the plane this morning to head off to Kearney (pronounced Karney), Nebraska.  No, not for good, but for a comedy gig there this weekend.  The following link is an interview they did of her recently.

Kearney Hub - Funny parents, funny kids, funny husband - the laughs are built in, says comedian