I just watched a video interview with Kendall Harmon after today’s proceedings. Here is the link if you wish to watch the whole thing.
I want to post a quote from the interview: “You can feel that people sense that where the church is heading is not where they want to go and not where they believe God is calling them to go. The hard part is how do you live in tension with that and what they need to not do is be driven by their emotions over the degree of the problem.”
You see, I can agree with Kendall that many people are feeling that this Church is going a wrong or skewed direction. Heck, I feel it. The problem, for me at least, is what direction am I to go? I won’t go back to the direction of the Akinola-ian conservatives. I can’t go in the direction of Spongian liberals.
I’ve written this before. Here is what I can say about the direction I can go – I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. I believe Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will coming again. I believe our paramount calling and duty as those who follow Jesus is to love God with all our being and our neighbor as ourselves. I will be a Prayer Book Episcopal priest. I will with charity understand that people will differ with me on how to live out all this stuff in the real world, and that they could well be right.
I believe in the historic Anglican way of approaching our faith and Holy Scripture – not with the intent of upturning the oxcart, but with tradition and reason as guides – by allowing questions, even doubts, and investigating what might well be the Holy Spirit guiding us into more correct understandings of God and our lives here on earth. This is nothing new, nothing profound, but a way of going forward through the landmines of American ecclesial politics.
It is a middle way, an Anglican way, and a way that is not in the direction of a good portion of the American Anglican right or the American Anglican left.
I want to say that after my short conversation with Kendall at Convention, I hope that the conversation will continue. I believe we truly do have more in common, even concerning the underlying and very important foundational issues, then what we may differ over. That’s my opinion.
X-Men
I just saw the new X-Men movie. Why do comic book authors, screen play writers, and directors get it far better at times than we in the Church, particularly this Church? Xavier is the image of Christ. Listen to how he approaches issues, foes, and those under his charge.
If you did not see the final clip after all the credits rolled by, you missed a most significant ending.
Our country cries out for spiritual experience and connection with God. What do we give them? – so much watered-down faith, quasi-Christianity. American Evangelicalism is as much a failure than new-age liberal Christianity to the growing majority of unchurched people.
We must humble ourselves!
The 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in the United States comes to an end today, or at least is scheduled to end. Today we will see whether we can deal with the Windsor Report in ways very un-American – whether we can actually humble ourselves just a bit.
I have never used this phrase before because I do not engage in Identity Politics, but now I will for a reason: “As a gay man†all that happens at General Convention is not all about me or my “tribe.†My identity as a gay man is not paramount, but as a Christian (perhaps I should say “follower of Jesus†because self-identifying as a Christian is an identity in and of itself, I know). As a Christian my call is to a life of self-denial, to love others more than myself, to even love my enemy. To find life, I am to die to this life. If I honestly love my enemy, how can I do that which only causes them harm or hurt, regardless of whether they want to harm or hurt me? What is the example of Jesus on the cross, after all? This doesn’t mean I have to accept my opponents’ interpretation of Scripture, their form of piety, or what they want to accomplish. I can be a strong advocate of my position, but when I see my brother or sister hurt and distressed by my actions or words when they specifically ask me to slow down, wait a bit, or allow their voice to be heard, how as a follower of Jesus can I say, “NO?†It is only in our hyper-individualized, arrogant American way can we simply say to world Anglicanism – those who agree with me (us) and those who don’t – “screw you,†I’m or we’re going to do what we want regardless of how it effects you.
So, we wait two years until Lambeth. So we agree to withhold the election of another gay bishop, so we wait to conduct blessings of same-gender unions, so we express our profound regret that what we did has caused such division, harm, and dismay among the vast majority of Anglicans and Christians worldwide. We humble ourselves and say we may have been wrong in how we did it, and we could be wrong in what we actually did. I can advocate for my position, but my position is not what is most important – loving my brother and sister is regardless of how they respond to me. When concepts of justice conflict with concepts of acting in love towards others, we have a profound misunderstanding of both and I believe completely miss the Gospel imperative of love and justice and how they work hand-in-hand. “As a gay man,†I’ve always been vilified, never had the opportunity of blessing, so what is two years if in those two years many people around the world may understand me a little better, my perspective, or my interpretation of Scripture, and perhaps come to see things the way I do, or at least we can come to a compromise. For the sake of crucified Jesus, I’m willing to wait. If I simply want to force others to do want I want them to do, or the hell with them, then I am not acting as a Christian, but I am certainly engaging in Identity Politics. I am certainly enslaved to the “Tyranny of NOW.â€
We have been in a limited way discussed this issue for thirty years in this Church. The clergy have done a terrible job in bringing the discussion to most parishioners. What we did three years ago has forced the issue and forced the conversation called for by Lambeth Resolution 1.10.3, so let us continue in a way that will include as many people around the world as we can. I know what it is to be excluded, and I don’t want to do to others what I have experienced myself! Pass the Commissions recommendations for Windsor as a beginning point. If in three years our opponents do not accept the conversation or do not listen, then we have gone the extra mile and we continue on as we feel we should – but we tried, again.
Below I go into this whole issue of Identity Politics a little more deeply.
Identity Politics
I’ve been thinking about the whole issue of Identity Politics. It is well established within society in general, academia in particular, and has become apparent within our Church, too.
Tomorrow, I will post some thoughts on this issue. I have never bought into identity political theory, but I will write from my own experience and perspective. It is too late this night to think straight.
When will it end?
Resolution A161 failed in the House of Deputies. The motion to reconsider failed.
We have lost our ability to understand what it means to be catholic. In our arrogant and profoundly self-centered American way, we say to perhaps the majority of Christianity, and particularly world Anglicanism – screw you!
My hope and prayer is that something will come forward that will allow us to move forward as Christians, not as ideologues pushing our nice little agendas. But, we Americans have a very difficult time learning anything that is contrary to what we WANT to believe.
How do we understand the Gospel?
Much of what we see going on at General Convention and within our Church in general, is the clash of various “cultures” all claiming “The Gospel.”
What I see as a glory of Anglicanism is a recognition that various concepts of the Gospel come together to give us a more balanced and clearer view of its fullness. It is only when we lay claim to one form and become fundamentalist concerning our favorite “pet gospel†that irreconcilable differences and conflict have the day.
The Modernist inspired ideas of the “Social Gospel” taken up with full force by the mainline denominations during the 60’s and 70’s (and also reflected in the Liberation Theology initiated by South American Roman Catholics) still remains a powerful force in the Episcopal Church. While Modernism as a worldview/system has been waning for many years now, the primary undercurrent of general social understanding by those in power (the 60’s Baby-Boomer generation) within this Church and many of our national institutions remain. The gospel has a primary focus on social justice and righting the wrongs of past generations with relation to marginalized peoples.
There is a gospel that has arisen over the last twenty years or so that takes its cue from the “self-esteem” pedagogies of academic educational theory. It might be described as the “Gospel of Affirmation.” God is love, and all God wants to do is love us and enable us to love God’s self and one another. God affirms us in our personhood and completely accepts us for who, what, and where we are. God esteems us as individual beings, and because God is all love we are all brought into God’s loving embrace. This is probably a very inadequate description of this idea of the truths held within the Gospel as perceived by this group of people.
Then, there is what might be considered the long standing or traditional ideas of the Gospel of Christ, and at the moment no real term comes to mind to describe this perception of the Gospel. It might be termed the “Gospel of Transformation,” although that may be different from this form. Different variations of this exist within the Evangelical side of the Church up through the Anglo-Catholic side of Anglicanism. Within this gospel are the notions held within the Creeds fully accepted and believed. There is the assertion that God revealed Himself through the prophets, through Holy Scripture, and most poignantly through His incarnation in Jesus. It is in the life, death, and resurrection (actual, historical events) of Jesus that we find our fullness as human beings. We are transformed from who we were as blind, lost, and sinful humans and made new by the power of the Holy Spirit into the fullness of God through Jesus the Christ.
There is what I term the “Liberal Gospel,” although that is an absolutely inadequate term. It seems to me to be a rational extension of the Social Gospel. This form of the gospel might well be summed up in the teachings of Bishop Spong. Most of the gospel as seen is Scripture is metaphor and is absolutely anthropocentric. It deals with how we perceive and interact with the world around us and how we can move ever forward to achieving ideas of utopia.
Of course, various other “gospels” are out there, and I know what I have described above is quite inadequate. But, the reality is that we have competing ideas of what the “Gospel of Christ” really means as we live out our lives on this big, blue ball. As we align ourselves to one or another gospel, this determines where we place out emphasis in terms of legislation, piety, church policy, and the like.
My contention is that there are elements of truth in all the above. God does accept us where we are. God does not leave us where we are found, however, but transforms us as we yield our lives to His perfect will. In that transformation our objectives, our desires, and the focus of our lives are changed as we are enable to see the hurt and desperation of so many. As we are changed and renewed, we are enabled to love – God and one another – in new ways which compels us to fight for justice and the welfare of all people.
In my humble opinion, these gospels are not in competition. We force the competition because we are humans who know in part and see in part. My prayer is that as we seek God, we will be changed by God and made into new creations that are able to fulfill the two Great Comments of Jesus – Love God with our entire being and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Where are we going, now?
Some fourteen years ago, I began attending an Episcopal Church in Akron, OH. I just wanted to see what a sacramental and liturgical church was like since I had become fairly disillusioned with the tradition I had been a part of.
Over time, I discovered this thing called Anglicanism. A wonderful thing, I believed, because unlike American Protestantism this church seemed to stay together despite the arguments, the infighting, and the differences of all kinds. In my humble opinion, this brought an overall balance in the functioning of the whole church.
This is my first General Convention. I am truly impressed with the level of sophistication and decorum of the committee hearings, the open hearings, and the debate in the various Houses. I am inspired by it all.
Even so, during these past fourteen years I have always had this strange sense that I don’t know where I fit within this church. That was okay when there seemed to be the understanding that we were all in this together, despite how one group or another was actually treated (and some groups from both sides are treated very poorly). If one part of this church decides to leave, then how am I to understand my place in our church, let alone within the Communion? It seems, perhaps, I will be even less sure of my place. I am glad I was ordained before this convention.
Then again, as one who knows I am just passing through this brief period of time called life, why should it really matter if I feel comfortable or secure or not? I suspect that the better sense should be that I learn to be content in all things, as Paul suggests in describing the place he found by yielding completely to the will of God.
The Anglican ethos will continue on, despite what this church decides to do or not to do. We all like to say Anglicanism is ours – is mine! – but it isn’t. I’m not disillusioned with Anglicanism, just with a lot of people who call themselves Anglicans. Anglicanism, if it is truly a legitimate expression of the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, is God’s. I can live within that ethos and it really doesn’t matter whether I feel I have a nice, comfy nock or not. Frankly, I will probably be much better off in the long run if I have to continue to seek and fight to understand what the heck God is up to!
Day – ??? – B
Okay, deep breath.
Again, I am not opposed to Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of the Diocese of Nevada, being our new Presiding Bishop. Within this Church, we are being consistent. My concern, however, is what this does and says to our ecumenical partners overseas and within this country – Anglican, Roman, Orthodox, and American Evangelical. What does this say to those who accuse this Church, as well as the United States in general, of being self-centered, arrogant, and unilateral in its dealings with the rest of the world?
You know, it just gets very tiring trying to honestly understand all sides (attempting to walk in the shoes of those of opposite opinion) and attempting to hold both sides in tension – seeking the ‘via media’ where a balanced understanding of things probably resides. It is emotionally draining attempting to put aside my own opinions (and I am very opinionated, as some well know, particularly my former seminary roommates), my own wants and desires. It is very difficult letting go of what I want and what I think is best.
I have a big thing about hypocrisy and inconsistency. I know that I am hypocitical and inconsistent at times, but I strive not to be and I hope that people will show me where I am being so.
My prayer, Lord help me, is that I will understand my own culturally bound proclivities, my own cultural biases. I pray that I will see and understand as clearly as possible this colored lens of American culture through which I see and understand the world. I hope that I can truly be an alien and stranger to this world, not for the sake of just being peculiar but to live fully into the Gospel of Christ – which is neither liberal or conservative, Western or Eastern, Northern or Southern, Evangelical or Anglo-Catholic, etc., etc., etc. I pray that I can be – truly be – a person that will defend anyone’s right to their opinion and freedom to express such opinion and to be at the table. I pray that I can walk in humility knowing that I see through the glass darkly and that I will not truly know until I see Him face-to-face.
That’s all. I know that I have my own ‘stuff’ to deal with and work through. In all this, as in the situation with our current government and social issues (Cultural Wars), I find too many people no longer wanting or willing to come to a common position. Too many people just want their ideology, position, theological perspective to win, regardless of the consequences to other people not of our own tribe.
Day – ??? – Our New Presiding Bishop
These are my first thoughts, and they are by no means my last ones. Writing later and after processing this more, I may come to very different conclusions as the days go by. Thanks, Jason, for letting me know!
Well, while the final concurrence from the House of Deputies has not yet happened as of this writing, I have it on good word that nothing negative has been heard among the deputies. So, it seems that we have our first female Presiding Bishop and Primate.
From the very beginning, I want to make it very clear that theologically, socially, and scripturally I do not have any problem with women priests, bishops, or primates. Heck, I grew up in a denomination that was started by a woman.
Here is my hesitancy with our action: Where is the consistency?
What I mean is this – I know many people who decry the United States government because it acts unilaterally around the world, does not respect other cultures and traditions, and acts arrogantly and selfishly when dealing with others on the international stage. Yet, in this Church, so many of the very same people who will condemn the United States government will wonderfully proclaim this Church’s right to do these kinds of things, regardless of the opinions, feelings, cultural sensitivities, and concerns of our so-called sister Church/provinces around the world.
We know this action will further the claims and perceptions that the American Church is arrogant, selfish, and imperialistic as it attempts to shove down their throats representatives, policies, and theologies they cannot accept. Where is our humility? What does it mean to be a church-catholic? What does it mean to consider the “weaker brother†if that can even be applied to this situation?
Yes, absolutely, and with complete agreement I say that females have the same rights and responsibilities as any male in this Church, as do gay people, but why are so many people willing to restrict American’s rights over various economic and social issues for the sake our brothers and sisters around the world, but we are unwilling to do the very same thing in this Church over certain issues?
Consistency and no hypocrisy! If we want to be vanguard, rebellious, and progressive in this Church regardless of what anyone else around the world says, then fine. That really is okay and our purgative, but don’t expect then to be a world-wide church and part of a world-wide communion where we really do consider ourselves sensitive to the concerns of others. So, then, I expect those same people who will not consider “a weaker brother” concerning this Church in the world to shut up concerning American social and governmental arrogance concerning politics and economic issues. It is the same thing, in my mind.
I have heard that our new PB is the best qualified, and I have no reason to doubt that. This is a good thing, but only if we really do consider ourselves and island unto ourselves.
Day 5 – The hardest
I am worn out. This is also the day when the reality of letting-go has become the most real. I suspect the whole thing began with the Spanish stuff in what I thought/think a “common” worship should be, considering that the vast majority are English speakers.
Two days ago, I talked with one of the Orthodox monks at their booth while looking at icons and Russian church music, which I love. We talked for a good bit about the vows of obedience. His will be more complete and all encompassing than my own, but living into obedience in honesty and with integrity is very difficult and takes time to relinquish one’s own want and desire.
This is not an obedience issue, but closely related. The letting go of and giving up of self is horrible. It is very difficult.
Here, now, I am finding it terribly hard to let go – of expectations, wants, ideas of what should and should not be, what is right and proper and what is not, or of desire. Letting go of my own expectations concerning living arrangements, jobs, ministry is not easy. Letting go of anger, frustration, disappointment, dreams, friendships, everything is proving to be unbearable.
Where is the line, the point of crossing? Letting go of everything is to become nothing, it would seem. Where is that line between letting go and holding something so dear so close – even tenaciously?
I can see that the holding of some things so close is nothing more than me – all about me. Holding such things too close will bring nothing but frustration, bitterness, perhaps much anger. It isn’t worth it! Wisdom, wisdom and discernment through the power of the Holy Spirit are what are needed. Lord help me.