November « 2008 « Bandits No More

November 12, 2008

Getting What We Wanted?

Filed under: Consumerism,Culture,Economics — rheyduck @ 7:59 pm

Some of us have been preaching against consumerism for ages – some vehemently and constantly, some merely occasionally. Looking at the current US economy it appears that maybe someone was listening.

What’s wrong with consumerism?

When we’re captivated by consumerism, we think having stuff – and constantly having more stuff will make us happy and give us a good life. As followers of Jesus, we reject the idea that things – whatever they be – can bring us salvation. That’s Jesus’ role in our lives. Consumerism, therefore, is a form of idolatry.
Our consumerist lifestyle has been driven by debt. Millions of Americans are drowning in credit card, mortgage and other forms of debt. They have to work longer hours, extra jobs, just to stay even. But staying even isn’t enough. We need more! Sure doesn’t look like the happy life to me.

What’s happening now?

People have stopped buying as much. Some have stopped buying because they’ve maxed out their debt – they can’t get any more credit. Some have stopped because they have no cash. Others have stopped because they see a greater need to save for the future given the economic crisis.
As the population ages, large numbers of people are deciding to downsize. In terms of housing, they want less house to maintain. In terms of stuff, they’ve have seen that possessions aren’t worth as much as they may have seemed at first.

These conditions combine to lead to a drop in demand. If less stuff is wanted, there is less demand for people to produce that stuff, leading to a decrease in jobs. An end to consumerism doesn’t just mean that people throw away their idols. People involved in the economy of idols lose their jobs. That’s a factor we preachers against consumerism haven’t always taken into account. While consumerism has been idolatrous for many, it has also been a source of livelihood for others.

I think of the problems the early Christians created in Ephesus. As more people became followers of Jesus, they not only rejected the idols they had previously honored, they also stopped buying new ones. Demetrius and his fellow idol-makers felt the pinch. They framed it, however, not as a loss for themselves, but as a lack of respect for the great goddess Diana. If Demetrius had become a Christian, how might he have handled things differently? If he listened carefully to Paul, he probably wouldn’t have continued making statues of Diana, excusing his participation in idolatry with something like, “Personally, I’m against idol worship, but hey! I need to make a living. I need to put food on the table, pay my mortgage, and take care of my kids, don’t I? To me it’s just a hunk of silver. To them, it’s a tool for their religion. Who am I to judge?”

I don’t know what the best answer for Demetrius – or for producers today – if the turn away from consumerism lasts for a substantial amount of time. Here are a few thoughts as I start thinking about it.

The economy will re-tool to reflect a changed perception of what people truly need.
Perhaps we’ll learn how to shift from a consumption economy based on “gimme, gimme, gimme” to a gift/grace based economy based on, “What do you need? How can I/we bless you?”
I’m concerned that the powerful of our society will “hog the lifeboats” and the weak will be left to drown. The powerful are in a place to profit from government bailouts, either in terms of direct funding, indirect siphoning through corruption, or through maintenance of personal freedom while those at the bottom are reduced to serfdom, either of the government or of government-favored corporations.

What do the rest of you see as options?

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November 9, 2008

Walking Around

Filed under: Books,Leadership,Peter Drucker,Uncategorized — rheyduck @ 2:45 am

One of the books I’m reading on right now is William A. Cohen’s, A Class with Drucker. Here are some good points on “Managing By Walking Around” he shares from Harry K. Jones (interspersed with some of my own comments):

Appear relaxed as you make your rounds. Employees will reflect your feelings and actions.

Leading churches is hard work. While we might have some paid employees, most of the people we work with are volunteers. Especially in today’s economy, there’s a lot of fear and anxiety. While it might be truthful to make lots of worried noises, I’d rather build confidence than reflect fears. Churches have an advantage over businesses since our ultimate confidence is in God, not the economy, not the Fed, not the government. If we trust God and obey God, we’ll be ok – whatever else is happening around us.

Remain open and responsive to questions and concerns.

I think I’m ok at remaining open and responsive, though I’m not always successful at appearing so. Since we’re all in it together, people deserve the respect of being heard.

Observe and listen, and let everyone see you doing it.

People expect leaders to take control. Sure, that happens sometimes. But if that’s all that happens the leadership won’t be happening very long.

Ask for suggestions to improve operations, products, service, sales, etc.

Pastors are the experts. We’ve been to seminary, tons of workshops, have many years of experience. We know what we’re doing. Sometimes. We often lack necessary information or a relevant point of view. If we ask people who may know what we don’t know, we honor them as co-workers in the mission of God.

Catch your employees doing something right and recognize them publicly.

We have so many ways to recognize people – from the pulpit, in newsletters, in group conversations, sending notes, etc. People need encouragement, not only so they’ll have the motivation, but so they’ll know what counts.

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November 6, 2008

Some Thoughts on Confirmation

Filed under: Confirmation,Evangelism,Youth Ministry — rheyduck @ 5:02 pm

One of the common features of confirmation classes is to have the confirmands produce a creed – a statement of belief. After going through several weeks – or months – of study, they write a Credo.

I have seen other churches that do it differently. When a person – young or old – is baptized or joins the church, they give a testimony of the work of God in their life, and how they came to faith.

The production of a creed aims at the intellect, the production of a testimony at the heart, or at one’s experience. Modernity has developed habits of dichotomizing knowledge and experience, and I think this is one area we can see the dichotomy: the approach is either intellectual or experiential.

My question: Is there a way to do both?

I want my children – and as a leader, the children of others – to have a clear experience of God in their lives. I want them to experience a “heart strangely warmed,” exercise their wills in giving their lives to Christ, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Apart from this kind of experience, I do not think they will have the motivation to live as Christians for very long.
I also want children to develop a biblical and theological language to understand the work of God – in the world, in history, in the church, in their own lives.
As we focus on these dual objectives, experience and understanding, people (this will be true of adults as well as children) will grow in their ability to interpret their lives as part of God’s continuing action in history. They will learn to see their purpose and significance as based not merely on themselves (which can be easily thwarted by a knowledge of their sin and failure), but on the stubborn and active love of God that incorporates them into something bigger than themselves (the Kingdom of God).
In the beginning, an emphasis on Christian experience was the major factor differentiating Methodists from others in the Church of England. John Wesley, however, embodied an approach that kept the experiential and the intellectual tied together. In the past century, however, Methodists have lost the connection to Christian experience for two reasons. First, we have succumbed to the modern notion that experience is essentially and primarily individual and private. Second, we have turned from the usage of language drawn from scripture and tradition to articulate our experience. For the most part we have ceded “saved” language to other groups (like the Baptists).
Because we tend to see experience as personal and private, we are uncomfortable talking about it. Yet it is in talking about if for ourselves that our children (and other adults) come to have the experience. Contrary to much of modernity, knowledge, language and experience are hopelessly intertwined.
We need to recover a robust language of experience from scripture and tradition so our children can have the language and concepts to have the experience of being forgiven, saved, redeemed, sanctified, filled with the Spirit, etc.
This language needs to be explicitly connected with the narrative of scripture and not reduced to psychological or sociological categories. “Gaining self esteem” or “a new outlook on life” are good things – they may even be by-products of Christian experience. But if those kinds of experiences are all we offer, we are missing out on the best God has to offer.

What do you think of this?

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