Pastor raises controversy

Brent Waldemarsen, Pastor of Harvest Community Church (of God), in Willmar, Minnesota is in the middle of a state-wide controversy.

 

While I do not know the individuals involved or situation first-hand there are a number of news reports that give us a good indication of what's going on. Apparently, Waldemarsen attended a meeting of a local ministerial association (of which he is not a member) and secretly taped the state Senate Majority Leader, Dean Johnson, who was speaking. Johnson made some comments regarding gay marriage that inappropriately implied a close relationship with Minnesota Supreme Court judges. Waldemarsen's tape quickly got into the hands of Minnesota for Marriage, an activist organization. Various media have picked up the audio and transcripts of the speech and expanded it into a full-blown controversy.

 

The whole gay marriage issue is a hot potato to begin with, but now with this development the various sides on this issue have become even more inflamed than ever. Advocates of traditional marriage are upset with the senator and his comments. Those supporting gay marriage believe that Waldemarsen's tactics were immoral, if not illegal.

 

Without getting into the whole gay marriage issue, this problem illustrates a much deeper dilemma: To what extent do we get involved in political issues around us? I know that these issues touch people at their deepest convictions, and that many well-intentioned Christians and church leaders believe that their involvement is necessary for the sake of society.

 

I wonder, however, if in getting involved in the politics around us in the name of the church there is a real danger of our proclamation of the Good News of Jesus being hampered and thwarted? Instead of witness and mission based on Jesus-modeled servanthood, we can easily sell out to the power games and systems of the world and in the process confirm to the world the spiritual bankruptcy of the church.

 

This is a discussion that rarely happens in our circles, at least in a thorough and constructive manner. I hope that we will not shy away from struggling with an understanding and practice that reflects our holiness-oriented faith and practice.

 

Some web links covering and commenting on this story:

http://www.kstp.com/article/pstories/s14909.html

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22868

http://wcco.com/local/local_story_076074439.html

http://www.burtonhanson.com/

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/14161973.htm

 

Transformational Change?

I was excited to see the latest copy of Communion arrive in my mailbox. In particular, I wanted to read the second installment of Jeannette Flynn's discussion on "How do you change a culture?". Upon closer examination, however, my enthusiasm turned to disappointment. (My previous postings related to this discussion can be found here: "Change of Culture", and "Our Culture (version 1.0)"

Don't get me wrong. I respect Jeannette, she has profound things to say, and I believe that this is a valuable discussion. But, the process is driving me crazy.

First, this discussion is taking an extremely long time. One article every two months is hardly sufficient. Healthy discussion cannot be protracted like this.

Yes, Jeannette has started a blog (http://transformationalchange.chog.org), which could provide some valuable interchange. But, even here is only one post going back to December. I hope she contributes on a regular basis. (By the way, this marks the first RSS feed on the Church of God Ministries website - a welcome advancement. But, there's still some bugs to work out, as the feed doesn't appear to be working properly).

I affirm Flynn's assertion that "the issues are critical and the time is paramount". Let's get the discussion going and work for transformational change!

Raise the flag?

I may be treading on sacred ground here, but ...

 

Like most pastors I recently received my 2006 Resource Catalog from Warner Press. As a "good" Church of God minister I dutifully flipped through to check out what is new. I was especially interested to see some of the new books that will be published in coming months, including Are You Sure You're Right? by Jerry Hickson, What's Right with the Church of God by Thomas Pelt, and Preaching the Story by fellow Central Californian, Jeffrey Frymire. (I will review these books on this blog once they are available and I have read them).

 

So far so good. But, moving a little further along in the catalog my enthusiasm quickly waned. On page 14 staring me in the face is the Church of God flag. I don't know if this is a new item for sale, but it's the first time I've noticed it. And it just seemed to stand out like a sore thumb, complete with our dated and tired logo, albeit modified. The flag is available in handsewn cloth for $135.00, or nylon for only $55.00. (Shipping and sales tax extra. Call now - operators are standing by ...)

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against a Church of God visual identity (although a new logo would be welcome!) or even a flag, I suppose (although I couldn't imagine buying one). What troubles me, however, is how it seems that our identity often is limited to such shallow representations. More than not our self-understanding tends to be wrapped up in clichés, nostalgic sentimentality and even trinkets. Buying and flying a flag is not going to strengthen our identity.

 

If salvation, unity and holiness are our "core truths" (as the catalog description states), how do we really express these meaningfully in our collective proclamations and expressions? What difference are they making in our mission within the world? I would hope that we would become devoted to struggling with these issues, as this will have the greatest impact on our movement and ministry.

 

Getting People to Serve

From time to time I have highlighted the increased awareness among many of us concerning the mission of the church as it relates to service. This has become a more prevelant topic in the Church of God especially since last year's North American Convention.

 

One of the greatest challenges that our congregations face in transitioning emphasis to mission and service is finding practical ways to implement it within their settings. I just came across an excellent report published by Leadership Network. On their website they have a summary article, "Transforming Volunteers into Kingdom Laborers", but more importantly download and read the  full report at no cost.

 

Definitely worth reading and acting upon.

 

Troubles in Cuba

A story has appeared in Compass Direct (News of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith) about a former (?) Church of God leader in Cuba who was arrested by authorities. While I have no way of knowing all the details of the accusations or what's behind some of the strife in the church there, it is a matter that deserves our prayers. Ministering in a country like Cuba must be difficult enough then to have to deal with some of the internal and external politics facing the church.

 

LINK

 

The confusion over holiness

While I am not a big George Barna fan, I was intrigued to read his recent findings of Americans' understanding of holiness. In his summary, "The Concept of Holiness Baffles Most Americans", Barna observed that many Christians "do not understand the concept or significance of holiness, do not personally desire to be holy, and therefore do little, if anything to pursue it."

 

Of course, we in the Church of God sit back smugly in our chairs because holiness is one of our key tenets. There is no confusion in our camps over holiness. Or is there?

 

While I do not have Barna's resources to conduct a comprehensive survey within our own movement, my observation is that most of the people in our congregations are not clear on the topic. We claim to preach it, but there has been so much moralistic and legalistic baggage attached to our practice of it that I am convinced we are also baffled.

 

Holiness is an important teaching and practice, and we who believe in its significance should be working hard to restate it to a church community and world that do not seem to fully understand it. To do so we must be willing to move beyond the simplistic descriptions that we have previously provided and present fresh interpretations that speak directly to the hearts and minds of people today, all the while capturing the intent of Scripture. For example, there is much to be said about framing holiness within the context of our participation in God's mission.

 

What is your take on the confusion over holiness?