Stop Doing Invocations

Every three months the city council meets and puts "Pastor Valendy" on the agenda next to the "invocation", which comes after the two pledges. So right away you know there is a lot going on with this. First of all, we don't have a clean separation of Church and State. Secondly, I am not sure there are any other religions other than Christian to give the "invocation". And in case you are not living in Texas you may not know that in Texas we have a pledge of allegiance to the American flag then we have another pledge to the Texas flag. The irony of having two pledges of allegiance is not lost on me.

Every time I attend this meeting I am always asked to come and "do the invocation." And every time I sort of wince because of what is being asked of me is not what I am able to do. The idea of an invocation carries with it this idea that the priest/shaman/clergy/ordained person somehow has the magic words to invoke the divine to be present at the gathering.

No one is that powerful to make god appear. Additionally, and more to the point, invoking god to be present is not even necessary. God is already here, there and everywhere. God was there before we gathered and God will be there once we dismiss. 

So let's all stop doing invocations. Rather, if you desire a clergy person to "do" something, invite the clergy person to help the gathered body to become aware of the presence of the divine that has been there all along.

A case for the stumbling block

They are called Stolperstein and I had never heard of them. Granted I never have been to any of the 18 European countries which you can find one of nearly 50,000 stolperstein, but still. I feel like I should know about one of the largest memorials in the world. Fourtantly, I am friends with Rev. Nancy Allen who is much more learned and traveled that I am so she hipped me to the stolperstein.

These are stones that are laid in the ground with names of people who were killed in the Holocaust. What I have come to understand as well is the stolperstein are not markers like a gravestone, but in fact tributes to those who were a 'stumbling block' (which is what stolperstein means in German) to the Nazi cause. 

What is additionally interesting to me is the art of redemption that you find in the medium of the stumbling block. 

In the Christian tradition, there are a handful of verses in the Bible about stumbling blocks. All of them cast a shadow over the stumbling block. Warnings to not be a stumbling block and even condemning those who are stumbling blocks to others. In my religious tradition, stumbling blocks are not associated with anything redemptive. 

That is what makes the stolperstein so interesting. The stolperstein exposes the redemptive quality of the demonized stumbling block. The stolperstein invite/challenge us to all @@be a stumbling block to hate and trip up evil.@@ To be a barrier to destruction. 

It is not easy to be a stumbling block, which is why it is worth remember those who were.

Finding the redemptive quality of the stumbling block is much like what God does in this world. God is the force that is able to find the redemptive quality in all things. Even those things we think are beyond redemption. It is the creativity of the force of God that continues to draw me into a deeper relationship with Christ. It was Christ who looked at the cross, the symbol for the ultimate power of the state, and found the way to redeem even that horrible symbol. Now the cross stands as a sign of hope and resurrection.

The Christian life is one that calls us to find the redeemable in even the darkest of places. I am thankful for those who show me that even the stumbling block is redemptive. 

Confusing Efficient and Effective

The name of the game these days is "how can we make it more efficient?" From factories to schools to government to finding a taxi, efficiency is the gold standard. If a company can cut it's costs by a set percentage by replacing expensive human workers with "autobot" workers then the company will move see that as the most effective way to be a company. If a text is more efficient to have a conversation with someone than meeting for coffee then texting is seen as effective. If churches can move quickly to respond to a need then that church must be effective. 

We all know this but perhaps we all need to be reminded that @@efficient is not the same as effective.@@

I can yell at my children and put the fear of God into them and they will do as I say. My household will be efficient since we will not have any arguments - only decrees from one voice. While this is an efficient environment to make my children do as I want, it is not effective in making my children functioning adults. While it is efficient to get people to behave in a specific way if God is waiting to bring the hammer down on you if you step out of line, it is not effective to lead people to greater maturity. We can guilt people and make them feel bad about their lives in order to be more efficient when we ask for donations, but this approach is not effective to help people be generous. 

The temptation to focus on efficiency may be rooted in the fact that efficient is much easier to work on than effective. Effective takes time which makes it antithetical to efficient. To put it another way, there is not a way to "life hack" spiritual formation and maturation.

Where do you go in a dust storm?

If life were a field, image all the dust our culture must kick up with all the action and doings and business and noise. It may be said that we live our lives in a middle of the dust storm and this is why we are perplexed as to how to live. It is difficult to see and breathe when we are in the middle of the dust storm.

Many gurus out there talk about how to quell the storm, thinking that if we are able to act in a way that does not kick up dust then we can live in a better place. It is a wonderful idea, but it seems like it is a red herring. While we may be able to control our own actions and kick up little dust, the reality is life happens and dust is thrown in our face even without our permission. When the medication diagnosis is given or when your co-workers bring their tension into your life, dust is kicked in your face.

The @@Christian life is not about avoiding or calming storms, but learning to live with them.@@ 

One of the ways Christianity teaches about storms is knowing where to stand. The role of the church is to be a place that invites people to step away from the dust storm so that we are able to see and breathe deeply. This is why churches sometimes act slowly. Sometimes it is not fear that keeps the church from moving but it is the desire to have a place where one can see and breathe.