When Help Isn't Helpful

I don't know if you saw this article about donations flowing in to Alabama after the tornados. In brief the article says that they have received so much stuff - some of it useful but most of it not - that they are inundated and the tasks of finding storage space and sorting through the piles of used underwear and broken toys to get to the few things they can actually use is a huge challenge.

This seems to happen after every major disaster - people want to help - but in trying to help they get in the way- I remember a friend who was helping out after 9/11 at St. Paul's Chapel where the rescue workers were being fed and counselled and otherwise cared for. She talked about the 4 truckloads of stuffed animals that people sent. It was a nice thought - but they had no use for stuffed animals and had to either dispose of them (and pay for it) or figure out where they could be used and get them there.

Uniformally those who work in post-disaster relief say that the most useful thing that people can do is send money. With money they can purchase exactly what they need in ways that they can process efficiently or provide funds to victims directly - with the added benefit that purchasing things locally helps the economy begin to recover.

Our Christian instinct is to help those in need - but we need to be sure that our help if really helpful - not just what we want to give but what is really needed.

That's part of the reason I'm so proud of all of you - for example $285 for Japan just from people's donations - well done.

Great things are happening

It has been a busy couple of weeks at St. Paul's. Holy Week and Easter and then this past week which was bookended by a visit from our new Bishop on his first day as Bishop and the ECW basket auction.

It got me thinking about everything that is going on at St. Paul's. The Bishop mentioned his first impression of our church - when he was at my house for dinner and came over to see the church on a Tuesday night and met the NA group, our Stewarship committee and the Diocesan Cursillo Secretariat all in the space.

We had the basket auction on Saturday which meant nearly 80 people, most of who aren't members here, in the building for a day of fun. We have a carnival this coming Saturday (1 - 3 come!) where St. Paul's people and members of the Venture Crew and the Boy Scout troop will join together to raise money for the people in Japan. We have the last in the series of forums on care for the Elderly on the 19th. We have another coffee hour contest, the parish picnic and Sunday School awards coming up in June.

I just wanted to take a minute and say thank you - and pat ourselves on the back for a minute - we are a busy, happening place.

A New Kind of Christianity - part 5

This is the last chapter of A New Kind of Christianity that we will be looking at - I encourage you to buy the book if you want to know more. In Chapter 4 Brian looks at the way that we have traditionally seen the narrative of Scripture. In Chapter 5 he looks at a different way of viewing it. In his view - if you read Genesis as a unit what you find is not a literal history but stories that illustrate two arcs - an increasing separation from God and a beginning of a return to God. In McClaren's view the arc of separation runs from Genesis through the tower of Babel and the arc of the beginning of return runs from the calling of Abraham through the story of Joseph at the end of the book of Genesis. What do you think?

A New Kind of Christianity - part 4

The fourth chapter of Brian McClaren's book moves on from setting the stage of the changes that have been happening in the world to looking at Scripture. The way that we have usually looked at Scripture is back from our current place through the lenses of all those who have gone before. So we see Scripture through the lens of modern scholars who see it through the lens of the scholars of the Reformation, who see it through the lens of the scholars of the Middle Ages who see it through the lens of the scholars of the first 1000 years and so on. The result has been that our understanding and interpretation of Scripture has been heavily influenced by neo-Platonist philosophy and that our view of the story of Scripture is colored heavily by that. McClaren's thesis is that we should look at Scripture without those influences and attempt to read the Biblical story as one narrative and to look for the themes that run through it. More next week

A New Kind of Christianity - Part 3

In the third chapter of A New Kind of Christianity, Brian McClaren tells the story of the pilgrims. Right before they left on the Mayflower for America their pastor prayed for them for their new journey. In many ways, Brian says, we are headed out on a journey to a new world in the church. He suggests this as a prayer for us: "Lord, we acknowledge that we have made a mess of what Jesus started. We affirm that we are wrong and Jesus is right. We choose not to defend what we have doen and what we have become. We understan that many good Christians will not want to participate in our quest, and we welcome their charitable critque. We acknowledge that we have created many Christianities up to this point, and they call for reassessment and, in many cases, repentance. We choose to seek a better path into the future than the one we have been on. We desire to be born again as disciples for Jesus Christ. Now grant us wisdom and guide us in our quest, and create something new and beautiful in and among us for the good of all creation and to your glory, Living God." I like the prayer - but it also got me thinking - part of the journey to a new world - both by the pilgrims and by later emigrants - like those moving to the American west - is the decision about what to take with you and what to leave behind. Usually you can't take very much with you. So that raises for me the question - what should the church take with us into the new world and what should we leave behind?

A New Kind of Christianity Week 2

The second chapter of A New Kind of Christianity talks about shifts in paradigms - that is in the way that we see the world and the way we interact with it. For example - when it was discovered that the earth was not the center of the solar system - but only one of many planets that all orbitied the sun - the paradigms shifted.

As we have moved into the shifting paradigms of the modern world Brian McLaren sees 10 qeustions recurring - his thesis is that we need to seek responses - as opposed to answers - to these questions:

1. What is the overarching story line of the Bible?
2. How should the Bible be understood?
3. Is God violent?
4. Who is Jesus and why is he important?
5. What is the gospel?
6. What do we do about the church?
7. Can we find a way to address human sexality without fighting about it?
8. Can we find a better way of viewing the future?
9. How should followers of Jesus relate to people of other religions?
10. How can we translate our quest into action?

So, what do you think?

A New Kind of Christianity - Part 1

During Lent, St. Paul's is discussing Brian McLaren's book A New Kind Of Christianity. Each week I will post synopsis of the chapter we are looking at and I invite comments and discussion.

This week we are looking at Chapter 1.

This chapter is about setting the context for the conversation - there are several things that jump out.

The first is a set of statistics - In America today 40% of the population attends church regularly (once a month or more). However of those listed as "converts" or new members by churches 90% of them are already churched. So those who are joining churches are moving from one church to another - they aren't coming from the 60% who don't attend church regularly.

We are moving into a world where the paradigms are: Pluralism, Relativism, Globalism, Uncertainty and we need a new way of believing to respond to it.

Some other thinkers have identified similar thing

Phyllis Tickle in her book The Great Emergence suggests that every 500 years or so the Christian church holds a "rummage sale" and gets rid of some old stuff and reinvents itself for a new age.
At 500 it was the collapse of the Roman Empire and the move of the church into the role of administrator of Europe
At 1000 it was the Great Schism and the split between the Eastern and Western Churches
At 1500 it was the Reformation that led to the birth of Protestantism
And now it is happening again

Harvey Cox in his book, Future of Faith suggests that there are two previous ages in church:
The Age of Faith until about 300 which was characterized by diversity, energy, vitality, suffering, persecution, courage and rapid growth
The Age of Belief was from about 300 to about now - which was marked by the Christianization of the empire and the imperialization of Christianity. During this time Christianity became the dominant belife in the western world - in many ways to its own detriment
The Age of the Spirit - which we are entering into now - is trying to preseve the previous age and embrace new challenges.

What do you think?