The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
I sometimes wonder if the church has been too focused on the first part of this verse, and completely ignored the second. Preachers like me are often very good and kindling the “fear of the LORD” in the course of leading folks to simplistic platitudes and proverbs. In the pulpit we are masters at sharing just enough information to make a point (after all, we don’t have time to go deep) and to start the process of thinking for those who listen to us, but rarely do we exhort folks to learn more in a disciplined way, leading to wisdom.
I raise this concern for I regularly find myself in conversations with people who somehow seem to think that quoting a couple of verses in support of a pet issue is enough. These are good people who are trying to be faithful, but somewhere along the way that have developed the belief that knowing a few facts about the Bible is an adequate basis for making a faithful decision about the stuff of life. When encouraged to dig deeper, to engage in serious study, to use modern methods of exegesis, they beg off, suggesting that they know enough, or that they are “not deep” and couldn’t understand these things. Frankly, I often get a sense that they want to wallow in their opinion and not be challenged by the possibility that there might be other ways of understanding their issue.
Have we become a fool factory, or are we challenging people to embrace wisdom and discipline in life? Do we sell our folks short, thinking that the beginning of knowledge is the most that we can ask for, and creating a climate that rejects the intellectual rigor and study that is required for seeking God’s truth? Should churches be spiritual kindergartens for adults, or should every congregation in fact be a seminary charged with preparing people to carry out their calling in the world, a charge that requires active learning?
How would the modern American church look different if we truly embraced Provervs 1:7?
God of peace and presence,
today the news shocked us again
as bullets flew from a gun
and vibrant lives were again lost.
The persons in that processing center
most likely weren’t too thrilled to be there.
Of course they were servants, called to the task
of representing their nation in battle,
and so they came
filling out the paperwork in preparation for a trip,
knowing that soon they would be in harms way in a foreign land.
Little did they know that harm would come to them here at home.
Little do any of us know of the demons inside that are leading men (for they are usually men)
to pull out a gun and begin firing.
These demons fester quietly in the background,
and as a result, good men and women die.
Be with those good men and women who have survived,
and comfort those who have had to say goodbye far too early.
Give them the assurance of your love and grace in the midst of their pain and tragedy.
And God, somewhere tonight, locked to a hospital bed, is a man filled with demons.
We don’t know what was going through his head, but whatever it was, it wasn’t right.
Comfort this one too, this child of yours, who somehow lost his mind along the way
and became convinced that killing was an acceptable act.
Fill him with the light of your grace that he may come to his senses and realize what he has done.
May we who judge him consider the possibility that God’s plan is to forgive,
even when we can’t and shouldn’t forget.
God this has been a painful day,
so as night comes, bring forth rest,
that all the world might be comforted and restored by your love.
Amen.
Yes, I should be working on the sermon tonight, but as often happens I have to take a break to exercise the thoughts that burst forth when my mind goes into full gear. Tonight’s revolves around a comment Kay made earlier about the lack of “trick or treaters” in the neighborhood. Several years ago our street was overloaded with kids coming through on Halloween to get their annual treats. Tonight, however, the doorbell only rang about 10 times, and there just didn’t seem to be many kids about.
As we were talking about this I made the comment that I bet a bunch of kids and families went to the local “trunk or treat” events which seemed to be happening at every other church in the area. For those who don’t know the phenomena, “trunk or treat” involves church members parking their cars in the church parking lot and handing out candy to kids from their trunks.
“I hate that,” Kay said after hearing my comment.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Well,” she offered, “it seems to me like these church events undermine the neighborhood part of Halloween.”
“Say more,” I said.
“Well I remember when these things were started,” she said. “It all began with folks suggesting that trick or treating in the neighborhoods wasn’t safe, so some churches started offering these “trunk or treat” events as a “safe alternative” to neighborhood trick or treating. But the fact was, Halloween trick or treating was pretty safe, and it brought neighborhoods together. Folks would walk the streets and neighbor would meet neighbor back when the kids roamed the streets together. The “trunk or treats” undermine these neighborhood based activities, and generally lead folks off into their own separate enclaves without getting to know those who live around them.”
Kay brings up a good point, I think. Of course, most churches in our neighborhood that go the “trunk or treat” route do so in their minds as an evangelism/outreach tool. “We’ll offer this program and people will bring their kids by,” they say, “because they know our event will be safe. Then, once they are here, we can tell them about our church and let them know that our church loves kids.” No one intentionally sets up these events to capitalize on fear, but in fact the marketing often does appeal to the fearful places in the hearts of parents. However, in my experience the folks that generally come and participate in these activities are folks that are already involved in the life of the church at some level. Thus we end up hosting a series of parties that are functionally exclusive to our communities, but which fail in the goal of outreach.
The question that we have to ask is if our attempts at creating events like these at times when neighborhoods have traditionally gathered together as neighbors undermines their ability to function as neighbors. Put another way, do our attempts to LOVE our neighbor through activities like “trunk or treat” get in the way of our calling to BE neighbor.
Being neighbor is part of our call, you know. Of course the high point of Jesus’ teaching was that we are to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves,” but that teaching assumes that we are engaged in being neighbors. The call to be a neighbor is seen in the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Jesus asks “Who is the neighbor in this story,” knowing that it was the person who was willing to engage “on the road” rather than requiring our “neighbors” to come to us.
I don’t want to prolong this conversation, but I remember as a kid the UNICEF approach to Halloween. UNICEF would often throw a Halloween party, but only after kids and their parents had gone through their neighborhoods to not only get candy, but to also get loose change to benefit the UNICEF organization. Halloween in that model was understood as rooted in neighborhoods, and the structure of the program honored and promoted that understanding.
What would it look like for a church to give up the “trunk or treat” and instead send teams of persons and kids into the surrounding neighborhoods to promote community togetherness and understanding? What if they were to avoid the language of fear and proclaim proudly that Christ has called them to be present with their neighbors and to walk the streets together? What would a neighborhood based ministry for Halloween look like in a church context?
My one regret is that I wasn’t thinking about this earlier in the year. Thanks Kay for stirring the pot, and help me remember next year to think about what it means for a church to be a good neighbor.
What are your thoughts about the way the church sometimes undermines a community’s ability to be good neighbors?
Photo by Kimberkv via Flickr
Everyone seems to be piling on the Titans, but here is my game plan for their future. After all, what have they got to lose?
This song just spewed forth from some deep places in where God is speaking to me. Some day I will get around to recording it so you can know the tune, but here are the lyrics:
We Are One
A few years ago I had the bright idea of doing a regular podcast on United Methodist related stuff. I did around 20 or so until I ran out of steam, but my favorite was one featuring the head of the TWIT Network and former TechTV host Leo Laporte. Leo was kind enough to post the link on his site, and I ended up having over 75,000 downloads for this show. Since then the server I was using crashed and most of the MethoBlog shows are no longer available online. However, given Leo’s prominence these days I thought I would bring back that episode in an encore performance.
Hey Leo, since you are rolling in the bucks these days, don’t you think you need to start a regular show about religion? I know a Methodist preacher who might be interested.
Ed. Note: Last week I was invited to offer the invocation at the opening convocation of the Meharry Medical College, a historic institution that has trained doctors for the African American community since 1876, located in Nashville, TN. This is the prayer that I offered at that event.
Creating God, giver of life and sustainer of our souls,
our ancestors tell us that you spoke
and the universe sprang into being.
You, O God, hold the secrets of the universe in one hand,
and your love of your creation in the other,
and, you have bestowed upon us
the ability to discern your handiwork in the world around us.
As we gather this morning,
recognizing the beginning of a new year of teaching and learning,
may your workmanship be evident in all we do.
We come this morning with humility
as your servants called to the profession of healing.
You have given us the means
to better understand the workings of the human body,
and we thank you for the gifts you are bestowing upon us.
You have called us to the awesome task of caring for humankind,
and we recognize this calling as sacred and holy.
Lead us, O God, to remember that for all our gifts and skills,
there are times when we are limited in what we can do,
times when all we can do is to put others into your hands.
When those times come, as they surely will,
give us the grace to be healers with hearts,
helping others to experience wholeness
even when healing as we know it won’t come.
We assemble today for the 134th time
to celebrate another year in the pursuit of our calling.
Bless this institution,
and all those who work to train healers in this place.
Help the administration, faculty, and staff
to be the kind of professors and colleagues
through which excellence can be nurtured,
and compassion cultivated
so that ALL people–
those with means and those without,
those who are educated and those who aren’t,
those who have power in our world and those who don’t—
ALL those you have created, O God,
will know what it means to be made well.
We pray this today with expectation,
for you are making all things new,
and offer us hope for tomorrow.
Speak this year in a special way, for your servants are listening.
Amen.
