A Non-Discriminatory Policy

An article in yesterday's Dallas Morning News caught my eye.  The focus was on businesses in Mississippi who are displaying "We don't discriminate" signs in the windows of their the establishments.  Knowing the history of that area of the country you might think the current campaign is racially motivated.  In this case, the shop owners are letting customers know they do not discriminate against gays and lesbians.  The current campaign is a response to a state law that will take effect on July 1.  The law bans the government from limiting the free practice of religion.  While that may sound like a positive move, in the eyes of some it opens the door for some to ban individuals because they violate their religious principles.  The article gives the example of a photographer who refuses to provide service at the wedding of a gay or lesbian couple.   

While those who support the gay, lesbian, and trans-gender culture are behind the drive, the article focused on one particular shopkeeper who does not fit that profile.  Mitchell Moore owns Campbell's Bakery and proudly displays the "We don't discriminate" sign.  "I am a straight, white,  southern Christian conservative" notes Moore.  He goes on to state, "I don't understand why Christians consider one sin worse than another sin. 

I have never understood discrimination on any level.  Even growing up in Detroit in the sixties, I couldn't comprehend why some people were biased against Black people.  I never felt threatened by Blacks.  When my parents looked for a bigger house for our family, we moved closer to the central city.  At the same time many of our neighbors were fleeing to the suburbs.  I can trace my attitude to my father, who considered all people to be his neighbors.  That is probably why my parents were able to live in that house for over forty years and numerous changes in the community.   And I know dad's principles were based on the teachings of Jesus.  Jesus didn't discriminate during His earthly walk.  He ministered to all people, and when he gave his life He died for the sins of all people, including those who put him on the cross.

That is a principle we need to pass on to the next generation.  The best way to do that is to model Jesus' non-discriminatory policy.  We might have our faith-based values, but the only way to share those principles with those who are different is through a relationship. 

We are Always Easter People

Those who have read my book Passing the Torch might remember this story but it was much on my mind yesterday as we again celebrated Jesus' Resurrection.  I still reflect on it because it puts the Easter victory in perspective.

Carl Munzel was the organist and choir director at St. James Lutheran Church where I grew up.  My parents sang in the choir and it was expected that my siblings and I would as well.  When eligible, I joined the children's choir and then graduated to the youth choir after confirmation.  Carl Munzel was "old school" and even the children learned parts and often sang a cappella.   During my junior year in high school I was asked to join the senior choir.  As I recall there was shortage treble voices and I was asked to join the bass section.  The Lenten Season was always a busy time for our choirs.  In addition to Sunday mornings, the choir sang every Wednesday night for Lenten services.  We also learned a Lenten cantata that was usually sung on one Wednesday evening.  In the midst of all the somber music, we started to get ready for Easter.  This particular year we must have been struggling to move from "Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted" to "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" because in the middle of a rehearsal Carl got very agitated with us.  Carl Munzel was a short man and he walked with a distinct limp, but that evening he seemed to be a giant as he rose up behind the podium and took us to task.  "You people don't get it," he exclaimed.  "If this was Advent and we were preparing for Christmas you would be excited because we would singing about a baby.  If that baby stayed in the manger, we would not have a Savior.  We are Easter people." 

Carl's message must have been delivered effectively because over fifty years later I still remember it.  Without the Easter victory, we would have no hope, but Jesus did conquer sin, death and the devil.  He also destroyed the barrier between mankind and God.  We are Easter People who can live every day in the hope of the Resurrection.  All the troubles of this world are nothing in comparison to the glory that awaits us in heaven. 

Americans and The Bible: Skepticism is Growing

I started this day as I do every day.  Seated in my recliner, I read from my Bible.  During this season of Lent I am reading through Luke's Gospel.  I always read from my personal Bible, a Thompson Chain-Reference New International Version.  The Bible was a Christmas gift from my parent's over twenty years ago.  I had put the Bible on my Christmas "wish list" and specifically requested that version.  I like all the resources included in the Thompson and as a writer I find the chains helpful when working on a particular theme.  My Thompson is not the first Bible I received as a gift.  I received one at my confirmation, another when I went off to college and Barb and I received one as a wedding gift.  My guess is we probably have over three dozen Bibles in our house.  That means our family is way above average.  According to a recent survey done for the American Bible Society in partnership with The Barna Group, 88% of American households own a Bible.  Those homes typically have 4.7 Bibles.

While it was reassuring to know we would find Bibles in an overwhelming majority of American homes, I found some of the data gathered by The Barna Group disturbing.  Skepticism toward the Bible is growing.  In 2011, 10% of those polled saw the Bible as just another book containing stories and offering advice.  That number has grown to 19% in the most recent poll.  A majority of the skeptics (67%) are under the age of 48, with 28% of them being between the ages of 18-30.  While most people still view the Bible as sacred, that number is declining, falling from 86% to 79%.  57% of Americans are pro-Bible, believing that the Bible is the Word of God.  For me the most shocking statistic is that only 37% of American read the Bible at least once a week. 

For me, the daily time in God's Word is more than just a routine or discipline.  It keeps me focused on God's desires for me.  During my years as a high school counselor, I discovered that my early morning visits with God often equipped me for what was going to happen later that day.  Now, on those days when I am serving as a hospital chaplain, I find myself referencing a scripture passage from morning as I visit patients. 

We are called to be God's messengers to a broken world.  "You are the light of the world," Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 5:14.  "A city on a hill cannot be hidden," he continued.  The only way that we can make sure we are equipped and focused on that task is to begin each day in the Bible.  As Christian, when we do that we are bearing testimony to the power of that Word.  If we are going to reverse the trend when it comes to how people view God's Word, it has to begin with us. 

Being Proactive with School Violence

During my years as a school counselor I could count on it happening a couple times every school year.   A teacher would hand me a note or drawing with the comment, "You need to see this."  Perhaps the note would contain threatening comments or the drawing depicted a knife, gun or other symbols of violence.  In other cases one of my colleagues would approach me about a student who had become withdrawn, or expressing anger.  In all cases the student was on my radar.  Sometimes I would approach the student to find out what exactly was going on.  Other times I would seek insights from their peers to gain their perspectives.  I had a team of peer mediators who not only helped resolve conflicts but became my eyes and ears.  Part of the training involved how to identify bullying, depression and violent tendencies.  In all cases we tried to be proactive.

I thought of that again this morning as I heard initial news reports on the stabbings at a high school in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Twenty students have been injured, including some with life threatening wounds.  One student who escaped stated that the sixteen year old who is in custody had been bullied.  The police chief stated in an interview that there seemed to  be a pattern in the attack since most of the wounds were in the same lower abdomen area. 

One of the unfortunate realities of our educational system is that as budget money gets tight, student services get cut.  Often those student service include counseling or student intervention programs.  I recall a conversation a couple of years ago with one public school counselor.  He had over four hundred students assigned to him, leaving little time for individual contact.  He decided to retire rather of facing than face the increased responsibilities.   

I can speak from experience.  Seven years ago I was the victim of a budget cut.  The administration chose to reduce student service, rather than cut back in academic programs.  While I can understand the rationale,  I shutter at the implications.  During the first year I was retired I often heard from  teachers who were looking for insight into dealing with a student issue.  Unfortunately the phone calls stopped, although I still hear comments about what I and my colleague in the counseling office brought to the campus. 

The current environment puts added responsibility on parents and other adults to identify troubled teens and help them deal with their feelings or problems in a positive way.  When we ignore students who express anger, or who seems to have withdrawn, we are leaving the door open to more tragedies on our campuses. 

Millennials Don't Shared our Love with the Suburbs

In the late 1970's our family was living in Downers Grove, a western suburb of Chicago.  I was contacted by First St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chicago.  They wanted to interview me for a position on their staff.  St. Paul, located on Chicago's near north side, is one of the oldest Lutheran congregations in the country.  They were a vibrant congregation, still very passionate about ministering to the city.  In an attempt to reach urban professionals they had established an apartment ministry in the Carl Sandburg Village apartment complex.  While I was intrigued by the position, Barb and I decided it was not the kind of environment where we wanted to raise our family.  I still reflect back on that opportunity.  I grew up in an urban environment in Detroit.  I thoroughly enjoyed visiting downtown Chicago during the years we lived in that area.  I still enjoy visiting downtown Dallas.

Our son Mark has inherited my love for the city but he has taken it to a different level.  For a while he lived in a downtown loft.  At that point he was running a community center in east Dallas.  Within the last year, he and his wife, Kristen, have moved into an apartment in the Deep Ellum area of downtown.  The Crossing Church, where Mark serves as lead pastor, has The desire to see the city of Dallas transformed as one of it's core values.  Evidently, Mark and Kristen are not alone in their desire to live in an urban environment  .  A recent survey by Pew Research indicated that 62% of young Americans, ages 18-29, desire to live in an urban mixed-use environment.  Downtown Dallas isn't the only big city to be experiencing a renewal.  I recently read an article on the way downtown Detroit is being revitalized by an infusion of young urban professionals. 

I am not sure that the church has caught the same vision.  The Crossing Church is the first new Lutheran Church in Dallas in over fifty years.  During the same time four LCMS congregations have closed their doors.  Over that same period of time numerous new churches have been planted in the suburbs surrounding DFW.  One congregation even moved from a changing neighborhood to a suburb where there were already three other Lutheran churches. 

Urban ministry is difficult on a number of levels.  One of the biggest obstacles is the cost of operating a facility in the city.  Another challenge comes from the reality that millennials don't always financially support churches.   They also tend to be somewhat transient, and often try to avoid long-term commitments.  The best way to reach them is to meet them where they are at.  That might mean planting individuals in an urban environment and subsidizing their housing.  That's what St. Paul - Chicago was doing almost forty years ago.  In the same way, house churches and small group Bible studies are much more effective than trying to have a Sunday morning worship experience. You also need a core group of people who are passionate about the city and will support a ministry to it.

Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah and Millennials

I recently heard a sermon on the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  The pastor, my friend Ken Holdorf, focused on the mercy that God showed to Lot and his family, rescuing them from the destruction of the evil cities.  It got thinking about another lesson that could be taken from the story.  That's a danger that comes having preached a few sermons in my life.  I often process the message in terms of what would I have done with the text?  In this case, I got to thinking about how it might relate to our ministry to millennials. 

To understand why Lot and his family were in danger we need to go back to a decision that he had made years earlier.  In Genesis 13 Abraham and Lot separate.  Lot, Abraham's nephew, had relocated to Israel with the rest of the family but a problem had developed.  As Lot's family grew, there was not enough property to accommodate them all.  Abraham proposed that they separate and gave Lot the option of staying or moving elsewhere.  Lot looked around and saw that there were greener pastures on plains near the Jordan River.  "It's looks good.  I will live there," he stated.  There was one problem with Lot's decision; he put he and his family at risk.  Lot and his family settled near the city of Sodom.  Genesis 13:13 specifically states, "the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.  Not the place you want to raise a family.

I have seen the same thing countless times during my years in youth ministry.  Young people often make decisions that put themselves at risk.  They make decisions based on what looks good, or what is fashionable at the time.  When that happens they can end up going down a dangerous road.  In the process they could get hurt, and/or cause grief to those who love them.  The lesson we can learn from Lot's story is that we have a God who loves those who have made poor choices.  He longs to be reunited with those who have wandered astray.  Our God loves the broken and lost. 

We are messengers who need to deliver God's mercy and grace.  We are called to pray for those who have made poor choices and gone astray.  It can be difficult when we are the ones who have been hurt.  Sometime their poor choices have cost us money, in addition to the sleepless nights. The mistakes might even be obvious to us.  As a result we feel a need to blame or offer advice, when what we really need to be doing is loving them, accepting them and helping them move on. 

What's After The Millennials?

What are we going to call the generation that follows the millennials?  That was the question that host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, asked Paul Taylor of Pew Research.  While it's too early to put a label children born since 2000, the two jokingly came up with a few suggestions: digital natives, the selfie generation and the rainbow generation, a reference to their tolerance.  I could think of a couple more: centurions and generation like. 

Sociologist and others have been labeling generations for decade: baby boomers and generation x preceded the millennials.  Along with the labels come characteristics.  In the case of millennials they are viewed as being self absorbed and morally adrift.  They are also seen as being spiritual, but usually outside mainline Christianity.  I realize that there is some value in describing a particular generation.  For instance, it helps those who are marketing products, or in the case of churches understand who they are trying to reach.  But there is a danger in that we tend to view all members of that generation that way. 

I am part of a worship community that is a great example.  Our son, Mark, who according to "the experts" is a millennial, serves as our pastor.  Most of the paid staff, including the worship leader and director of media also were born between 1980 - 2000.  One of our elders is a millennial and on a typical Sunday morning probably half of the congregation would fall into that category.  I don't view any of them as fitting the millennial mold.  I could add our daughter, Katie Seale, to list of those outside the millennial box. Katie is director of music at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Carrollton, Texas. 

I am not tooting the horn for our kids, rather I want to make a point.  The environment children grow up in does make a difference.  Barb and I tried to Pass the Torch of faith to our kids, including our generation X son, Peter.  We also realized we could not do it alone.  We tried to put them in communities where there were other adults who mentored them.  They also were surrounded by peers who shared their faith and values.  We were blessed in that they followed that pattern during their college years, when faith was shaped within all three of them." 

As parents we cannot allow "supposed social experts" to determine our children's identity.  Millennial is a label that is put on a generation, not individuals within that age group.  It will be the same for the generation that follows.  As parents we need to not only set the rules, but the standards.  Values are established at home, and parents need to be the primary role models.  Lastly, we need to make sure they are in a community that reinforces what they have been taught.