Reflections on the Election Dilemma

I cast my vote in the presidential election last week.  I choose to vote early for a couple of reasons.  One, it was a matter of convenience.  I could vote at our city hall which I pass by all the time.  My regular polling place is a bit out of the way for me.   Also based on my experience in the last few national elections, I anticipated a line on November 8^th.  The major factor was I had reviewed the candidates and issues and made my decision.  In the end casting my ballot was easy.  There was no wait and I was in and out in ten minutes.  There were probably a half dozen other people voting at the same time.  Most of them were older adults.  Not surprising because it was mid-day and most of the population is working or busy doing other things.

From what I can gather, this election is going to be decided by citizens over the age of forty.  Part of the reason is that millennials for the most part are boycotting this election.  Like much of the population they are not enamored with either candidate.  A more noteworthy reason is many young adults supported Barry Sanders and lost interest once he was eliminated.  As a generational group millennials only get passionate about causes they believe in.  They really are not buying what either of the main party candidates stands for.  In the previous two presidential elections they passionately supported Barrack Obama, and played a major role in getting him elected.  I sense even some older adults feel a disdain toward both major candidates.  Unfortunately, many people are voting more against the other candidates than for the one the choosing.  Even this late in the process I hear a number of people who are on the fence in terms of how they are going to vote.

The truth is, unless something unprecedented takes place either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is going to move into the Oval Office come January.  That makes them a central figure in the future of the free world.  Deciding who to vote for should come down to who we believe would best represent our nation on a global level.  We are not going to change the cultural climate or solve our nation’s problems by electing a president.  With that in mind I would encourage you to vote.  I have made my decision; I would call on you to do the same.  In the process we might even send a message to the younger generation.  Boycotting an election is not going to solve our problems.  We are a democracy and our future depends on everyone sharing in the process.

Engaging the Millennial Culture

I was attending a conference in Austin, Texas a few weeks back.  My scheduled required me to be back in Dallas, so I left the conference at the end of the second day.  My intent was to catch a quick fast food dinner and then make the three hour trip home.  I had seen a number of restaurants in the morning on my way to the meeting, and was pleasantly surprised to see a Rosa’s Café.  When it come short-order Mexican food you cannot top Rosa’s.  They also make their own tortillas always served fresh and warm. 

The restaurant was filled with families and relatively busy.  After retrieving my food I set off in search of a table.  I spotted one toward the back and sat down.  I had my computer with me and figured I could get some work done. Before I could get settled in I noticed a young man sitting by himself at an adjacent table.  The tip off was he smiled and asked how I was doing.  Opportunity!  “Mind if I join you,” I asked.  He pointed to an empty chair but apologized that he was about to head off to an appointment. 

He reported that he had recently moved to Austin to be close to his sister.  He had lived in California but both his parents had died within the last two years and there was no other family there.  He was working at a Best Buy but was hoping to start school in fall.  When I inquired what he wanted to study he said he was a musician and wanted to learn production.  He was living on his own and enjoying the music scene in Austin.   He was hoping to make connections in school that could lead to a gig with a band.  Eventually he asked what I did, and seemed a little surprised when I told him my passion was millennials and helping churches understand and connect with them.  “I’ve never been real religious,” he noted.  “I have always gotten the impression that the church people felt they had all the answers and life is more complicated than that.”  I told him I understood but to not sell the church short.  “There are churches that are seeker friendly,” I noted.  “They really encourage discussion when it comes to issues,” I continued.    

That is the way the conversation ended.  He had his agenda and in the end I had mine.  But I sensed that he was a sincere young man who was struggling not just with life issues but with the death of his parents.  The best I could hope for was that he sensed there was at least one older adult who was concerned about him.  I did give him my card.  Maybe he will call me, but probably not.  Either way I hope he began to see that someone who called themselves “Christian” was concerned about him. 

There are probably many young adults who pass through your life on a regular basis who need to hear the same message.  I recently read an article on connecting the great commission with contemporary culture.  The author was Trevin Wax of Lifeway Christian Resources.  Trevin Wax identified three steps that need to be taken to effectively reach members of our contemporary culture.  The first of those is to seek to understand the people and the culture.  Nothing is accomplished if we observe and make comments from afar.  Before we can effectively impact the millennial culture we need to learn to seek,learn and understand that culture.  That requires stepping outside our comfort zone but I sincerely believe that is what we are called to go.  The future of the church as we know it hinges on our willingness to do that.

A Sticky Wicket

Watermark Church in Dallas has been in the news lately.  It is not the first time.  The Dallas Morning News annually does a feature on the best places to work in DFW.  The mega church, which boasts over ten thousand members, annually makes the list.  They have a prominent location on the LBJ freeway and their campus features a high-rise office building.  Now the church is being cast in a negative light.  One of their former members has shared his experience of being in effect being kicked out of the church. 

Jason Thomas had been a member of the church for years and was even a small group leader.  Jason Thomas is also gay, but for years that was not a problem.  Then out of the blue Jason got a letter informing him that the church was revoking his membership.  They state the church would continue to pray for him and he was always welcome to attend, but he was no longer considered a member.  Jason has since found a new church where he is welcome but his experience at Watermark has in his word left him, “deeply wounded.” Jason’s story tells me that it is not just traditional churches that struggle with the gay/lesbian issue. 

Watermark was aware of Jason’s sexual orientation.  Members of Watermark are required to sign a form indicating they will submit to the churches elders regarding their behavior.  Watermark’s response was for him to repent and undergo “conversion therapy” design to change a person’s sexual orientation.  Psychologist and counselors have long maintained that such therapy is pointless and even harmful.  The reality is that some folks were created gay. 

I am sure there are two-sides to this story.  I know a good number of people who attend Watermark Church and all of them are happy.  They always talk about the sense of community and the way they feel spiritually fed.  They also all are happily married to a member of the opposite sex, living a traditional lifestyle.  Therein lies the dilemma; how do we minister to those whose lifestyle runs counter to the way we feel the Bible commands?   It is a “sticky wicket.”

I truly believe it is always best to love and keep the door open.  I sincerely believe that is what Jesus calls us to do.  We continue to minister to those who struggle with addiction, or those who gossip and even slander others.  Why do we single out those who are gay or lesbians?  I believe we need to join them in exploring the scriptures seeking God’s will and desire for each of us.  Only then can we both celebrate the grace which we have in Christ.

Living in Exile

I have a deep appreciation for the Old Testament stories.  Part of that passion comes from sitting at the feet of Dr. Harry Wendt as I went through the Crossways training program.  In my mind it is difficult to have an appreciation for the New Testament until you have journeyed through the story of God’s people prior to the birth of the Christ Child.  I still stand in awe of the fact that so many remained faithful to God when all they had was a promise.  The characters in Luke’s Gospel like, Zachariah and Elizabeth, along with Simeon and Anna come to mind. 

When it comes to a respect for an Old Testament patriarch, I have always been drawn to Daniel.  While the Book of Daniel falls into the section of the Bible called The Prophets, there was so much more to Daniel’s story.  During the difficult time when the most talented and gifted of the Israelites, including Daniel, were taken into exile by the Babylonians, he stood strong as a believer in The Living God.  He not only became a leader among his people but won the respect of the Babylonian authorities, including King Nebuchadnezzar.

I thought of Daniel and the rest of the exiles this morning as I read a chapter in the book Called: The Crisis and Promise of Following Jesus Today by Mark Labberton.  The chapter was titled Relocating.  The point being that because of the cultural shift those of us who cling to biblical standards and principles might feel like we are dwelling in a foreign land.  Mark Labberton writes;

“Living our call in exile involves adjusting to very different circumstances and reading the signals of our environment and culture differently.  It means choosing to give ourselves to those around us with fewer and different expectations, not as settlers but as guests and visitors.  We don’t whine about the world being the world.  Instead we are called to love out of the integrity of our lives, without making our love dependent on it changing.”  (Called, Mark Labberton, Intervarsity Press, page 55)

Being an exile requires that I spend less time being comfortable inside the Body of Christ, and more time getting to know my neighbor.  It means investing less money and energy on buildings and more on people outside the faith.  For those of us who have grown up in the church and who have become attached to that community it is tough pill to swallow.  Bitter as the taste is, the reality is that if we do not change our focus from being the people of God inside the church, to being the disciples to the world that Jesus called us to be the church will continue to be a non-factor.   Without a change in perspective many current worship communities will cease to exist in twenty years.  For me that is an even more difficult pill to swallow.  Pass the Torch.

Senior Coffee: A Blessing or a Curse

Being a senior citizen has its privileges.  I was recently in one of my favorite Mexican Restaurants, Rosa’s Café, and got an automatic senior 10% discount without even asking.  The chicken enchiladas tasted even better and in my mind they have the best tortillas.  Another benefit is senior coffee at McDonald’s.  The cost of a senior cup of joe at Mickey D’s is never more than 75 cents and usually around 59 cents.  What a deal!

But when I walked into almost any McDonald’s in the morning I realize the senior coffee can be both a blessing and a curse.  The blessing is cheap coffee that rivals Starbucks.  The curse is cheap coffee that attracts senior citizens who want to sit around and talk about how bad things are.  Now I am sure they do talk about other things, but based on a highly random survey I would say the currently favored topics are: that the country is going to hell and how a certain Republican presidential candidate could turn things around.  “Build the wall and let us live the rest of our lives in peace and quiet,” I recently heard one man state.

Unfortunately many churches have the same issue; free, or maybe freewill offering, coffee and the opportunity to stand around and talk about how nobody comes to visit us anymore.  Now I am not suggesting we do away with coffee on Sunday morning.  Honestly, I would be one of the first to complain, and I feel the same way about the donuts.  However, we do need to move beyond the coffee pot and extend our conversation to people who do not always share our perspective.  

I just finished a new book by Kara Powell, a professor at Fuller Seminary and author of Sticky Faith.  In this book, Growing Young, Kara Powel and some of her colleagues offer some very practical insights into how even established churches came become more open and friendly toward teens and young adults.  The solutions is simple, invest time getting to know them.  When we invest ourselves in the lives of others we open up the opportunity for there to be a long-term relationship.

For decades the church has had the reputation of not being a place where you can discuss issues.  Questions are met with the same responses; “the Bible says…” or “we don’t do those kinds of things around here.”  End of discussion!  If that is to change we must learn to move away from our coffee clusters and out into the world.  Spend time in the youth room or get to know some of the few young adults who might actually attend your church.  Listen and do not immediately give the pat answer.  

Remember, when Nicodemus approached Jesus our Lord did not respond, “I know what you stand for so we cannot even have this conversation.”  No, he engaged an inquisitive Nicodemus in a conversation that ultimately changed his life.  Why cannot we do the same?