taxes

I think that everyone should go here and try this experiment to see how their political stances would affect the long term deficit.

It's interesting to see how things would work if you were in charge.

Jesus as Anti-Hero

Superman had a single weakness. Kryptonite could bring him down. He was eternally good; kind, caring, sympathetic, strong, masculine, etc. Superman was a hero. My grandfather and father read the comics. They received their notion of what a hero was from the man of steel. Of course, He had many imitators. There were many heroes for their generations. Hundreds of men (and a handful of women) who were heroes. Who were essentially infallible, minus one small flaw.

In the earlier portion of the 20th century the Christian faith had few qualms with tweaking Jesus here and there to make him more Superman-like. By this point, Jesus already glowed in the pictures. The scene of Him overturning the money-changers' tables in the temple became more prevalent. We sing cheesy up-tempo lyrics "Jesus is my super-hero" without a hint of sarcasm or shame. And, of course, Jesus is the savior of the world ... so this shouldn't be a problem.

If you're watching TV or reading books today, you'll see something a little different. Our superstars play anti-heroes. The biggest shows center on highly-conflicted protagonists.

Dexter is a serial-killer who only kills other serial killers. You find yourself rooting for him, hoping that the kill is clean and that he doesn't get caught. True Blood is filled with anti-heroes. People that you love and hope for, but people who are also conflicted. Almost every popular show touches on this phenomenon. Characters are no longer all-loving heroes. It's no longer black and white. Everything is gray.

Christians who lived through the 1950s still cling to the black-and-white world that Superman dominated. But what is left for those of us who have grown up in the gray?

When Jesus arrived on the scene, the people felt that they finally had their Messiah. But Jesus had a major flaw in the eyes of the people. Jesus refused to give the people what they wanted. They wanted a strong political and military leader - and Jesus, who would have been more than capable of such a feat, absolutely refused.

He squandered opportunities to incite uprisings. He disbanded crowds when they got too large. He healed miraculously, but he didn't heal those whom the people wished that he would. He healed poor beggars, women, children, racial-misfits, and even the young lover-boy of a Roman centurion - one more victim of the enemies rule - because of the Roman guard's "great faith!" He never found His Lois Lane. When he had his chance to ride in on a white stallion and make His declaration, he chose a young donkey instead.

Jesus was not Super-man. This is most shocking because Jesus could have been. As fully God, Jesus could have used the full weight of His divinity in any number of ways (and the devil tried to get him to do it...) but Jesus refused the role of Superman. Jesus chose the role of Anti-Hero.

He lived in dark shadows, ate with sinners, talked with the untouchables, and loved to the point of death without receiving love in return.



Christianity hangs in the balance. The church is dissolving because Superhero Jesus is failing to deliver, and my generation is turning it's back because we simply don't believe (or really want to believe) in superhero stories anymore. We want a savior, fully God and fully man.

And, oddly enough, that's exactly how the Gospel narrative has read all along.

Cackle.

Nina cackles when she wins a head-to-head game of Uno. Her high-pitched head laugh reverberates around the room. It sounds like the laugh of the crypt keeper from the TV show I wasn't allowed to watch as a child. If you met her and her laugh was anything else you would be disappointed.

Sometimes Nina seems impossibly old. And impossibly fierce. Not only did she survive WWII, but probably the first one. She held on to the Unsinkable Molly Brown in the lifeboat off the Titanic. She walloped Ivan the Terrible on the back of his head for smarting off to her when he was a kid.

Nina is the "grandmother" of the center for street kids. In reality we think she's early 60s, but the math is always fuzzy at best. She's tough with the kids so that the rest of us (workers and volunteers) don't have to be. Which is nice. She treats me like one of the unruly kids. Which is not so nice.

And they ARE unruly. As a rule. There' a whole lot of crazy, a lot of crying, and screaming, and tantrums ... and the kids are bad, too. Our goal at the center is to model the idea of a healthy family to kids/young adults who live on the streets and at risk families who pass through our doors.

We offer warm meals and a safe environment. And a grandmother who very well could smack the silly right out yo mouth if you push too far.

Hahahahahahahahah.

The church according to Alan Ball

Alan Ball is the genius behind some of HBO's biggest hits. His credits include writer/produce of Six Feet Under and True Blood. If you haven't seen these shows - I apologize in advance. These are not "christian" shows. These are not even shows which can be viewed un-edited on basic cable TVs during daylight hours.

Six Feet Under follows a family of undertakers through the lens of the people they are burying. True Blood is about vampires.

I know, I know. It sounds pretty ridiculous, right? It's not. They are amazing shows - well written, filmed, acted, and produced pieces of art that reflect and shape our culture. I hope that my children study the impact Alan Ball left on the world.

I am absolutely fascinated by Alan Ball's treatment of Christianity. Ball is openly gay and grew up in the south. In the wealthy suburbs of Atlanta. Of any American experience - surely his would lead to open hostility to the church.

Let's take True Blood for example:

Yes, some characters are stock religious nuts. Terra's mother, Lettie May, makes Jesus look like a jerk sometimes. And, yet, she is at least a real example. She is a complicated person who would like to make Jesus and the Christian faith an integral part of her life and the lives of those around her. Which of us isn't conflicted ... dare I say, hypocritical ... sometimes?

The "Fellowship of the Sun" is a "church" based on the idea that all Christians should hate vampires. It's full of nuts - and not too loosely based on some televangelist ministries.

But the real surprise is the good and faithful Christians sprinkled throughout the story. There's an old country church in Bon Temps, LA which could hold it's own against any church in history.

The main characters grandmother is a faithful member. She is a loving, caring Christian who ministers to all around her. She raised her grandchildren after their parent's death. She risks the ire of the town to invite Vampire Bill to come and speak at the Bon Temps historical society which meets at the church.

Hoyt Fortenberry is a committed Christian. He stands up to his mother for not following the teachings of Jesus - he calls her out for hating everyone, including Methodists. In one recent scene, a main character, Jason, calls out Hoyt "You're a Christian Hoyt, it ain't cool to judge." after he makes a judgmental comment about a girl. Hoyt waited until he was in love before he had sex (the show hadn't really brought up the possibility of human/vampire marriage at that time) - and he even joined Jessica, his vampire girlfriend, in a synthetic blood substitute beverage to show his love for her. Sex wasn't the expression of love, it was an after effect.

Now, the genius of Alan Ball, and the thing that I appreciate most is that there is a dichotomy between these two groups. There are crazy, ridiculous religious figures and then there are the Christians. There are those who make a mockery out of religion and there are those who follow Christ.

Six Feet Under deals with death. Every episode begins with someone's death. The rest of the episode features the inter-personal relationships of the dysfunctional family who runs the funeral home - through the eyes and life experience of the recently deceased.

Death and religion go hand in hand. This series offered no sanitized views on faith - there was nothing palatable; but it showed real and frank discussion on the topic of religion.

Angry people who hate God for taking their loved ones.

Christian people who couldn't survive without their faith.

The main family, as dysfunctional as any in America, attends church together infrequently. The mother lives out Christianity by trying to find joy in a setting that lacks any sense of joy. Let's just say that they wouldn't play it on the Hallmark Channel. But - it's real. It's an honest look at a (more or less) American family interacting with religion. It isn't the core of who they are - it's a fringe issue in their lives. And, ultimately, viewers get the idea that they might be much happier if they re-prioritized a little bit.

I'm glad that Alan Ball has provided these three things; an honest view of church and how it relates to an average family, specific indicators of what a crazy religious setting would look and feel like, and a tone that creates genuine appreciation for the gentle faith of characters who lead full lives and also happen to be followers of Jesus Christ.

Thank you.

Easy

I would like to start out by saying that I think Jon Stewart is a very funny man. The Daily Show is my greatest source of news (this is true for many people of my generation).

Recently he said this, "Being a Methodist is easy. It’s like the The University of Phoenix of religions: you just send them 50 bucks and click “I agree” and you are saved.”

Now, luckily, I'm a United Methodist so I'm allowed to have a sense of humor. I find this quote very funny. Just like everything else he says.

Just because it hurts doesn't mean it's not funny.

Maybe we've made it too easy to be a United Methodist. Maybe the criticism is accurate. Of any denomination, we're the least likely to take a strong dramatic stance on a hot button issue. Some might consider this a bad thing. But I think it's a good thing. >> Our decades of social justice work have accomplished pretty much every goal we all agreed on. The hot button issues we face today are fringe issues on which the Bible is not incredibly clear.

We believe strongly that God loves all peoples. Even people on the other side of the aisle. We count Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush as members. Dick Cheney is a member, too - and we are a church where both of his daughters would feel comfortable worshiping with their families - traditional or not.

We are a church that believes that God is not always black and white. And we can join hands and rejoice that some of our theology is in a state of gray. A polarized society might find this a huge detractor of the level of our faithfulness; but as a community of Christ followers who vow to live in the tension of the mystery of Christ, I can't imagine any theology being more faithful to God.

I think that religion should be easy. After one of my friends had been proposed to, I asked if saying yes was a hard decision. She said it was the easiest decision she had ever made. I think that religion should be easy.

Jon Stewart's statement is a little ironic, because in the same news cycle, Jon Stewart could have reported on Dan Terry, a United Methodist who found it easy to give his life for the cause of Christ, who died in Afghanistan during a medical aid mission.

Is it easy to be a United Methodist?

You bet. It's the kind of decision, the sort of religion that defines everything else you ever do. It makes every choice you'll ever make easier.

Thank you Mr. Stewart - we'll take your comments into consideration at our next General Conference. I'd nominate you to be a speaker, even! Well, as long as you've checked the box and sent in your check.

Best Commencement speech ever. Ever.

Here I stand :: Erica Goldson

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, "If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, "Ten years . ." The student then said, "But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast -- How long then?" Replied the Master, "Well, twenty years." "But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?" asked the student. "Thirty years," replied the Master. "But, I do not understand," said the disappointed student. "At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?" Replied the Master, "When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path."

This is the dilemma I've faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.

Some of you may be thinking, "Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn't you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer - not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition - a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I'm scared.

John Taylor Gatto, a retired school teacher and activist critical of compulsory schooling, asserts, "We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness - curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time, texts, and tests, by introducing kids into truly competent adults, and by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then. But we don't do that." Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt.

H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not "to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. ... Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim ... is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States."

To illustrate this idea, doesn't it perturb you to learn about the idea of "critical thinking." Is there really such a thing as "uncritically thinking?" To think is to process information in order to form an opinion. But if we are not critical when processing this information, are we really thinking? Or are we mindlessly accepting other opinions as truth?

This was happening to me, and if it wasn't for the rare occurrence of an avant-garde tenth grade English teacher, Donna Bryan, who allowed me to open my mind and ask questions before accepting textbook doctrine, I would have been doomed. I am now enlightened, but my mind still feels disabled. I must retrain myself and constantly remember how insane this ostensibly sane place really is.

And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.

We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren't we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.

The saddest part is that the majority of students don't have the opportunity to reflect as I did. The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can't run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be - but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.

For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, "You have to learn this for the test" is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades.

For those of you that work within the system that I am condemning, I do not mean to insult; I intend to motivate. You have the power to change the incompetencies of this system. I know that you did not become a teacher or administrator to see your students bored. You cannot accept the authority of the governing bodies that tell you what to teach, how to teach it, and that you will be punished if you do not comply. Our potential is at stake.

For those of you that are now leaving this establishment, I say, do not forget what went on in these classrooms. Do not abandon those that come after you. We are the new future and we are not going to let tradition stand. We will break down the walls of corruption to let a garden of knowledge grow throughout America. Once educated properly, we will have the power to do anything, and best of all, we will only use that power for good, for we will be cultivated and wise. We will not accept anything at face value. We will ask questions, and we will demand truth.

So, here I stand. I am not standing here as valedictorian by myself. I was molded by my environment, by all of my peers who are sitting here watching me. I couldn't have accomplished this without all of you. It was all of you who truly made me the person I am today. It was all of you who were my competition, yet my backbone. In that way, we are all valedictorians.

I am now supposed to say farewell to this institution, those who maintain it, and those who stand with me and behind me, but I hope this farewell is more of a "see you later" when we are all working together to rear a pedagogic movement. But first, let's go get those pieces of paper that tell us that we're smart enough to do so!

[My Hero]

At the hight of the apartheid struggle in South Africa - when white South Africans held all the positions of power and black South Africans appeared to be roundly defeated - Bishop Desmond Tutu stood up in a room full of white men in positions of power. Elected a Bishop in the Anglican church in his 50s he was not allowed to vote in South African politics. He wasn't white. He stood up in front of this room full of voting men and he said, "It's not too late. It's not too late to join the right side."

I don't really have a hero. I have a hero-type. I love people who stand up at the wrong moment and say the right thing.

I love when people say something that makes the room grow silent and cold; when people find themselves in the statement.

This is so much more than a good speaker. It takes a certain person - a certain life - to have the moral authority to speak such words.

The Pharisees were always on Jesus' case about the issue of authority. They wanted an establishment to have granted credibility to this preacher - Jesus had the authority of God, and His life to back that up.

Jimmy Carter had the courage to say that he would rather be a good Christian than a good president.

My Godfather apologized in the middle of a sermon for a joke he had made earlier in the day that, upon reconsideration, was probably a little bit racist. He just stopped mid-sentence and began his apology.

Mother Teresa left no sacred cows unscathed as she tore apart the brutal world after it awarded her its Nobel Peace Prize.

Jonathan Graham Pound stood up to the administration and fought for the rights of students on our campus.

Sophie Scholl smoke, drank, and loved Jesus in the same conversation. She was also a communist. She gave her life trying to topple the Nazis - she confessed her guilt in order to refute the idea that the mentally challenged don't deserve to live.

Corrie Ten Boom shook the hand of an SS guard and offered him the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

My mother taught me to love these people. Debbie Airgood is shy and reserved. Throughout our childhood she worked tirelessly to insure that my sister and I would not inherit that quality. She taught us to love the Truth and to speak boldly. She laughs some times at the monsters she has created - but deep down she knows that we will leave our mark on the world.


I don't want to have a lot of money.

I don't want a big house.

I hope that I always remain in weird shadows, off the radar, ministering to people who need to know that Jesus Christ loves EVEN them.

But someday I want to stand up and speak words that will change the world.

I want to be my hero.

Last night I went for a walk with a friend from English camp. Yana and her brother Dima are really fun to be around.

We went for a walk.

In Ukraine, going for a walk is a normal activity for friends hanging out. It's even a pleasant date idea. The correct translation of "hang out" in Russian is literally "to walk." We walked for four and a half hours.

We had planned to end with dinner. At hour two it was decided that McDonald's would be a nice end to the evening. I decided on my usual - a hamburger and an ice cream cone. At hour four I supersized to a Big Mac, fries, and a Coca-Cola (with ice!).

When we began to eat, Yana noticed that I didn't pray before eating. At camp we had prayed before every meal, and she was a little surprised that I didn't pray before my meals. I told her, "It's okay - it's easier to ask forgiveness later than to ask permission now.

Any theology that considers smoking cigarettes a sin would be incomplete and insincere if it didn't also include trips to McDonald's as sinful.

We're quick to label things as sinful - as long as their not the things we do. This is odd, primarily because a lot of what we hold quite dear is actually sinful.

Yes, Virginia, prayer chains are just gossip loops.
Yes, the fact that American Idol has the word "idol" in the title should tip us off that Christians shouldn't be flocking to it.
No, you shouldn't live in a house with more bathrooms than people.
No, you shouldn't eat food that kills you (because, like the case against cigarettes, your body is a temple of the Lord).

The real reason I didn't pray before eating at McDonald's is because Jesus taught his disciples to not pray in public or to make a show of their prayers - and perhaps doing so is also a sin.

political in nature

Generally speaking, progressive types tend to shy away from missions. People happen to view missions and missionaries as the prerogative of “holy rollers” and “Bible thumpers.” Usually people of a conservative persuasion are more thoroughly convinced that others must believe exactly as they in order to obtain eternal life.

Conservative missionaries tend to attract conservative people from the host culture. Those people in turn become even more conservative under the influence of the conservative missionary – or at least they find value and reason behind their conservative views.

This has happened all throughout Eurasia. Baptist missionaries targeted Russia and the former soviet countries after the fall of communism. Thousands of conservative Russians became Christians and quickly fell into the mold of conservative Christianity. But, oddly, the missionaries never made any attempt to enculturate the political views – they simply supplanted American political views. We have thousands of Jerry Fallwell conservatives all around Eurasia. It’s really bizarre.

They aren’t opposed to their own politicians – they dislike Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Even Christians who don’t speak English know that the KJV is a superior translation of the English Bible. Even after leading Evangelicals dismissed the works and finding of Ron Wyatt, an “archeologist” who managed to “prove” almost all of the Old Testament, Christians in this part of the world still cling to his findings.

Now, I’m rather progressive. As useful as titles are, I’m thoroughly Wesleyan but close enough to Mainline Protestant. I’m conservative enough that people say they can “still work with” me, but liberal enough that I make them uncomfortable when people ask me questions on social issues.

First and foremost I try and learn a lesson from the mistakes others have made. I work hard to remind myself that there is no political viewpoint that is as important as the Gospel message. Missionaries should never convey a political opinion with the same gusto and fervor as they do the good news of Jesus Christ.

When I do discuss politics, I try to offer my viewpoint as one possibility. I try to ask questions and offer feedback. I challenge easy answers as often as they are given. I change the subject when confronted with conversations about American politics.

A good case study is GLBT rights. Eurasian Christians have been taught all of the Jerry Fallwell rhetoric on this issue. They know the Focus on the Family Facts. They know that they do not support gay rights and that GLBT people are not welcome in their churches. But our countries, governments, and cultures are at two very different places on this issue – and our churches should react in two very different ways. In our culture, GLBT people are readily accepted and our churches must deal with how we will show loving acceptance and tolerance without showing that we accept their sin. It’s a high wire act for sure. In Eurasian culture, GLBT people face a living hell. Openly gay people are routinely targets of hate crimes. Lesbians are raped with some regularity by men who feel that they “can turn them straight”. These governments offer no protection (and some former soviet states were still executing homosexuals well into the 1990s!), no rights, and no equality. The churches here face a very different side of the issue and should respond very differently. The church here has an amazing opportunity to be on the forefront of a movement calling for greater human rights for an oppressed minority. But, sadly, we taught them to view the issue through the lens of our American political situation.

Often when discussing politics, I tend to overcompensate.

It disgusts me that missionaries who entered after the Cold War have taught a new generation of Christians that war is good and profitable. This is one “political” topic which I make no bones about sharing. I routinely remind those around me that it is because of my Christian belief that I am strongly opposed to war.
Ultimately I feel that Christian belief should transform the way in which people view politics. We should have the full realization that political thought pales in comparison with the richness of Jesus Christ and is but a small facet of the diamond that is Christianity. A flat side of a diamond can’t cut glass – you need an edge where several sides come together to form a point in order to cut glass. If our religion is really supposed to transform cultures, politics will play a small but important part.

I was having a discussion with a progressive friend here in Ukraine. She asked me if my Christian friends here would accept and welcome her. I would hate to sell my friends short, but I don’t think they would. They have been taught one (extremely-politicized) angle of Christianity and they would probably reject her based on that viewpoint.

As a missionary who happens to be a progressive Christian, I feel a very strong sense of call to reach out to those on the other side of the aisle. I’m here to let progressive people know that Jesus came for them, too. Jesus lived and died for all people, regardless of political persuasion. And the churches we leave behind should follow to Golgotha and also show no regard for political persuasion.