Anne Rice

“Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”

I couldn’t help, but be fascinated by the fact that religious identities and pronouncements on social networking sites now catch the eye of traditional news outfits. Anne logged into her facebook account and because of a status update was on television in a few days….a remarkable sign of our times.

And though I was disappointed that she allowed others (whom she characterizes as the “anti” crowd) to define her religious experience; I am thankful that she gave articulation to the reasons why she left. To be sure, people leave Christianity and the church (and other Faiths) all the time. But we aren’t always privy to the concerns that lead to departures. That’s not always articulated and especially as a pastor, it is important for me to regularly hear the unfiltered and sincere criticisms of those who are a part of Christian community and those who are not.

I’m thankful that Anne quit Christianity so publicly. I believe that the issues that she raised need to be seriously engaged by clergy and lay people alike. Initially, my approach to engaging it in the sphere in which I have influence, was to help people understand that there are many different expressions of Christianity. Based on one’s context, one’s personal experiences, and any number of other factors, people embrace and express their Christianity in remarkably different ways – even if they’re sitting side by side on the same pew! There is not total uniformity of belief in any church in the world. While there are shared beliefs there are boatloads of largely unspoken differing beliefs within any one congregation. That does not necessarily make the congregation any less a family of Faith much like differing opinions in your blood-family does not negate your familial status. Helping people become sensitive to that was something I attempted to do this past Sunday in worship.

Moreover, in future settings, I look forward to exploring this notion of Christ minus community. Rice was clear that she was quitting Christianity, but not Jesus Christ. I’m wrestling with that and hopefully can wrestle with others about it. Is it possible to fully experience Christ outside of community? That’s the question. Given the perspective that I have about Jesus; it is difficult for me to understand him detached from community. One of the ways that Holy Scripture characterizes him is as the Great Reconciler. Jesus was the catalyst for the calling together of radically diverse individuals who then shared in a certain connectedness because of the Christ. I’ll continue to try to understand Anne Rice and many others who see it possible to dislodge the Lord from the populace.

However the greatest assignment that Anne Rice’s defection from the Faith delivered to me was a responsibility to revisit the Baptist ministerial ordination process. In order for a baptist minister to become ordained, they must be examined by a council of pastors which vets them as it relates to their beliefs. In my experience, the bulk of the ordination process involves candidates being quizzed on doctrine and scripture memorization. The council expects to hear the candidate repeat accepted positions on baptist polity and then recite supporting scriptures from memory. While I hear of a time when these examinations were more engaging; the process today is considerably lax. So much so that a candidate need only memorize and regurgitate the “right” answers and they are pretty much guaranteed a passing score. The pressure to pass the aspirant is compounded by the planning of celebratory services scheduled immediately after the council’s examination. (What council of pastors wants to tell a waiting crowd, “Sorry, no party tonight. She failed.”)

However, Anne Rice’s comments remind those responsible for ordination today about the changing landscape of society and the pressing issues that any ordained Christian minister must be sensitive to. It should no longer be acceptable for aspiring ordinands to just recite John 3:16 and parrot accepted positions on theology. Ordained ministers today must be sensitive and skilled in thoroughly engaging issues such as homosexuality, religious plurality, post-modern thought, the social thrust of the gospel, and the regular controversies which surround our Faith. I’m not sure if Ordination Councils can just look for “right answers” from candidates anymore. Today, the candidate should have to show evidence of their ability to think critically and respond carefully to any number of issues that they are sure to encounter on any given Sunday (or any other day of the week). They should be pressed to articulate and defend what they believe as it relates to God, Christ, and Community. We don’t need “Reverend Robots” who regurgitate religiously accepted responses to the questions of yesterday. We need prophetic preachers who can rightly divide the Word of Truth today and carry themselves in this world with Christ-like conviction. And those of us who are ordained and especially those of us who are pastoring need to revisit the positions of our forebearers to ensure that they still have credible currency in our context. And if they don’t, we must have the courage to be led of God’s Spirit to sing unto the Lord -and the community- a new song.

Thank you, Anne Rice for quitting Christianity. I’ll be praying for your sojourn with God’s Spirit as you have helped me greatly on mine.

I’ve been doing a lot of hiding in my office for the past two weeks while trying to digest my perception of pastoral duties during the Holy Season. As my friends over at Working Preacher reminded visitors not long ago, this is a season that in many ways speaks for itself. Oh how I wish I would’ve heard that message back in January when I attempted to speak sermonically to the magnitude of our current president’s inauguration. The Sunday after the swearing in I approached the microphone and being utterly overwhelmed by the historical implications of the moment, I stammered and struggled through a sermon before returning dejectedly to my big chair. (Thank God for grace and the people for patience.)

The inauguration of President Barack Obama pales in comparison to the immensity of the Holy Season. This is my first Holy Season as a pastor, and I must confess a yearning in me to lead the people to meaningful worship and reverence in light of it, but exactly how to get there – I can’t say I’m certain.

What I am certain of is my desire to leave the traditions that have lost some value for me over the years. One of the great things about a blog is that it gives one the opportunity to see how they have evolved, grown, or in some cases regressed over a period of time. It was interesting for me to revisit a post about Easter that I wrote way back in 2005. It was full of frustration and poignant questioning as I was in the midst of my seminary journey standing on the rubble of what used to be my theological grounding. Then 2 years later, I was invigorated by a chance to celebrate Resurrection Sunday at a Juvenile Detention Center. It was life changing and in a sense it gave me “permission” to celebrate the holy days of my Faith in nontraditional contexts.

Now 2 years from that wonderful experience in 2007 here I am again – now as a pastor who has decidedly steered the Faith Community of which I am a servant, away from some of the informal baptist distinctives that have defined this season for decades: 7 Last Words Services, fish after church, and new easter clothes on parade.

And while I knew that I didn’t want to return to those traditions that for me have lost some value, I didn’t – and don’t know exactly how we will reverence the Risen Lord this year. Here I am hiding out in my office (trying to keep quiet so that those in the church don’t hear me) on the eve of Good Friday and I don’t have the program set for this weekend!

But in some strange way – in the midst of my utter bewilderment I’m beginning to find some comfort. I thought it was because of this 10ft tall wooden cross in my office or the ceramic Jesus staring at me on my desk; but no – it’s more than that. In a position where the expectation from everyone is that you should be “in control” and in some ways manipulating the flow of worship and manufacturing the presence of the Spirit (in partnership with the organist of course); I’m beginning to feel truly liberated by not having to define this Holy Season for others. Somewhere in the midst of the cross, my ceramic Jesus and the holy music playing through my desk radio; God has reminded me today and even leading up to today that Jesus speaks most eloquently for himself this weekend. While the other 51 weekends in the year are characterized by well-intentioned orators who through the foolishness of preaching attempt to “speak a word for the Lord”; this weekend – like no other weekend – the Lord speaks a word for Himself!

Therefore I am free. Like Matthew’s donkey and colt (or just Mark’s colt), the Lord has demanded my release for He has need of me….and he needs me not to bear the burden of drawing anyone toward him, but like the beast that carried him into Jerusalem – he calls me just to lift Him!

And while I’m still not sure what “lifting Him” will look like in a practical way come Good Friday Noonday Service or Easter Sunday Worship; I think I’ll follow the example of two eyewitnesses to Christ’s crucifixion. Mary and “the disciple whom Jesus loved” stood on Golgotha’s Hill on that dreadful Friday not knowing what to do either until Jesus gave them some instruction for living in and past that moment. I think I’ll wait at the base of Calvary as well listening intently for directions from the cross. With that desire in heart, I have a hunch that I’ll be joining the women as we run from the empty tomb full of hilarious joy aching to tell the good news.

Do you mind if I close with the words of that beautiful hymn of the church?

At the cross
At the cross
Where I first saw the light
And the burdens of my heart rolled away

They sure did.

Have a blessed and meaningful weekend.

Today, I preached a sermon entitled, “Hanging on to Christmas” with a scriptural focus of Matthew 2:16-19. This passage describes Herod’s murderous response to the birth of Jesus. For fear that the Christ Child would push him from his perch as client ruler of Judea, Herod ordered infanticide in Bethlehem and the surrounding area hoping to ensare the baby Jesus and add his corpse to the pile of dead bodies in town. Those in the Catholic Church identify this sorrowful occurrence in scripture as The Slaughter of the Innocents. In my sermon, I remarked on how soon after the birth of Jesus, the scriptural focus centers on Herod and his deadly campaign. The reader can barely get through the giving of gifts by the Magi before spiritual wickedness in high places demands an audience.

The parallel to current events is gravely ironic.

Two days after Christmas 2008 – two days after many purpose to celebrate the birth of the central figure in the Christian Faith, Israel began a murderous military campaign killing hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The bias of Western media is obvious. They would want you to believe that all of the dead are “militants” or “terrorists.” These days if governments attach that label to someone, it basically justifies them stripping the individual (or group of individuals) of all of their rights as Human Beings. Mainstream media takes the cue and refuses to probe into the situation with more than a sound byte analysis.

What’s truly disturbing to me is when those in the Christian Community – especially those who are leaders – either remain silent to this grave injustice or take an extreme Pro-Israel stance based on an uncontextualized understanding of Psalm 122:6.

A basic understanding of the history of the region would compel all Human Beings of Conscience and Faith to cry out and renounce this injustice. Israel is committing systematic acts of genocide and mass murder toward the Palestinian People under the false pretext of national security with weapons that were “made in the U.S.A.” Despite the so-called truce between Israel and Hamas, Israel continued to severely restrict food, water, medical supplies, and mobilization to the 1.5 million Palestianians within the Gaza Strip.

Though some would have you to believe that all Jews stand in support of the unjust actions of the Israeli Government, there are many that reject being silent partner or active participant to the atrocities, like Jewish Voices for Peace and the Shministim – a group of high school students in Israel who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies Palestinian Territories.

The Israeli Government is the greatest purveyor of violence in the Middle East and because they wield so much influence on the United States Congress, the United Nations, and other major governmental bodies, they are given a free pass to kill innocent Palestinians at will.

The Slaughter of the Innoncents continues today in Palestine.

Pastor John Wright (First Baptist Church of Guilford) and Pastor Marvis P. May (Macedonia Baptist Church) have a long record of being actively involved in the political arena.  Here they team up to give their support to Baltimore mayoral candidate, Keiffer Mitchell.  Widely believed to be the “white candidate” in the mayoral race, Mitchell obviously believes that he can gain some ground among Black voters by having Wright and May on his side.

The first featured preacher is Dr. C.L. Franklin, (1946-1984) former pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan.  Dr. Franklin, a colleague of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., was shot during a robbery attempt at his home and died in 1984 after being in a comatose condition for 5 years.  Click here to read more about his life and legacy. 

Enjoy.