Thursday, May 23, 2013

Additional Thoughts

Surprising as it might be to believe (which is to say not even at all), not everything I think belongs on a denominationally-supported website.  Which is why I have my own.  Here are two posts intended to provoke conversation with strong opinions but perhaps best aired on a neutral site.


Diakonia Remix Reboot
It is a little disappointing to observe how Overtures 3 & 4 (with regard to a theological affinity classis for churches opposed to the seating of women delegates) bring out impassioned opinions and concerns about the demise of the church. It’s not disappointing that people care about the church.  The disappointment lies in the paltry responses to a proposal about the work of deacons in our midst.  The suggestion that we allow a greater participation of the deaconate in steering the direction of local churches, classis and the denomination (via Synod.) 

Last year we decided that we would accept the Belhar Confession as a gift to our denomination and that we would adhere to it in some nebulous fashion as an ecumenical faith declaration.  This year we have the opportunity to see whether we can, indeed, accept the gift of another denomination/another culture’s difficult lesson learned.

If I am correct, and please (PLEASE) leave me a comment if I am not, the thrust of an increased role for the diaconate in the denomination parallels an increased focus on the mission of the church.  Of course we define ourselves by orthodoxy, which, to unduly simplify matters, is the work of elders in the church.  But we also ought to define ourselves by our orthopraxis, which, in a similar over-simplification, is the work of the deacons of the church. 

Surely we would have a word to speak to any congregation that would not take seriously Paul’s primer on faith, “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith, and this is not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one may boast.”  But aren’t we just as obligated to speak a cautionary word to any congregation failing to take seriously the very next verse, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”?

To this I add my own simple prayer - “From a denomination that cares more about whether women serve from the church kitchen or the pulpit, the Sunday School classroom or the consistory than whether the church serves the world with all its resources and all its members, Good Lord, deliver us.”

Diversity Defined
I recently accepted a call to a church in Washington DC where church membership is as diverse as I’ve seen in the denomination.  I’d like to think that this allows us a unique glimpse of the Kingdom of God.  I’d like to think that, because the Spirit is present in this place, we are always super-accepting and understanding of one another.  Just like Jesus.

7 months in, what I’ve come to think is that holding people together is hard work. That’s a universal truth whether the factions are split over worship music, carpet colors for the fellowship hall or culture, language and ethnicity.  It requires the effort of well-meaning individuals deciding to live in community with one another no matter what. And, even THEN, it isn’t easy.

Nonetheless, when it works – even for a moment – it is a good and glorious thing.  So yes, let’s equip our pastors and our churches to do the difficult work of holding on to each other – across divides of culture, ethnicity, language, theological proclivities, politics and gender.  Absolutely, yes. I’m a big fan of the impulse behind the Diversity in Leadership Planning Group II.  I just wonder about the conclusion they have reached.

Is the solution, then, to spend $200,000 (admittedly scaled down from the original request of 1 million) to hire persons of color (to say nothing of diversity with regard to gender, to geography or faith background) for leadership positions at the denominational level?

To believe that this is the solution to the problem is to put a tacit trust in trickle-down social understanding.  To believe that diversity in hiring at the denominational level is the solution to creating multi-cultural, multi-ethnic understanding in the local congregation depends upon an assumption that the leadership at 2850 significantly changes the lived experiences of our congregations.

And I don’t think I’m the first person to worry that something is being made of you and me with that assumption. 

1 comment:

  1. On Diakonia:

    As a denomination we have always been strong on orthodoxy/the "head" side of things. It is interesting to me that this discussion on the greater role of the diaconate/orthopraxis/the "hands and heart" side comes fairly quickly after the major votes on women in office. In our denomination the office of deacon is one more historically open to women, and it seems to me that the currents of thought, prayer, and theology that inspire one are connected to the other.

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