"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH?"

 “WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH?”

If you are of a certain age (like me), you can remember when white American churches were booming and growing.  Over the five decades since I became an adult, the church began to fade fast.  Indeed, my home church – First Presbyterian Church in Helena, Arkansas, is now closed, as is First Baptist, right across Porter Street.  Caroline’s home church in Chattanooga is closed.  Part of the reason they closed is that they had big, old buildings which the dwindling membership could not maintain.  But, this story is being repeated all around the country.  In this series, I’ll be concentrating on white churches, but much of the same can be said of Black churches – two large differences between Black and white here is that Black churches are often led by “tent-making” pastors, meaning that the pastors have full or part-time jobs in addition to pastoring.  The second difference is that only the wealthiest Black churches had large buildings, so the cost to maintain a much smaller building is easier to navigate.

And, speaking of race, that is one of the central reasons that white churches are failing and falling – those of us classified as “white” did not allow Black people to worship or become members in the congregation.  In small Southern towns like mine, that meant that at least half the population was automatically excluded from potential membership.  As MLK put it, the 11 AM worship hour is the most segregated time in the United States.  And, though some churches are notable exceptions to this, even now the vast majority of all churches are segregated.  

    This exclusivity not only applies to race – it also applies to sexual orientation.  All churches have had and continue to have LGBTQ+ members, but very few churches have allowed such members to be themselves in church.  Caroline and I have been part of church bodies ordaining LGBTQ+ people since 1978, but the Presbyterian denomination did not approve such ordination until 2011.  When they were in high school, my kids asked me why the churches were against ordaining LGBTQ+ people.  Since we ordained them at Oakhurst, I did not have an adequate answer, but David and Susan assured me that many of their young colleagues were departing the church because of this mean and oppressive policy.  The meanness and judgmental approach of the church has been – and continues to be – a huge turnoff for young adults.  Even though the Presbyterian denomination (and many others) have changed our minds on this issue, the horse is already out of the barn.  Young people know that we don’t mean it – on race, on sexual orientation, on money, on social class.

    Running all through this is the triumph of individualism in American culture.  We all believe in one form or another that the individual is the fundamental reality of human life – the idea that what is most important is the individual.  The necessity and value of community is seen as an antiquated approach to life.  Nowhere was this seen more clearly than in the Covid time, when most churches closed for extended periods of time.  Zoom/You Tube came to our rescue to stream services online, but that very service reminded us that we could get by pretty well without being in the physical presence of others, that we could do OK without the incarnated existence of the church community.  All churches were affected by this power, seen so clearly in the Covid time.  The need for community was lessened by this time in Covid, and we are still recovering from that loss, but we may never recover.

    The longtime split between spirituality and justice in the white American churches is also at the root of the demise of the church.  This split came because of the power of slavery and neo-slavery in American history.  In order to hold people as slaves, the enslavers had to lop off “justice” from the Christian faith, and though neo-slavery ended in 1965, the power of this split remains strong.  Neo-slavery is making its comeback now, and it is no surprise that Christian nationalism is one of the driving forces behind such a comeback.  Those of us classified as “white” have a long history of such a split.  The Religious Wrong (not “Right,” as they are often called) has combined spirituality and politics and is using it a powerful tool, but they have not united spirituality and justice.  (For more on this, see “The Spirituality of the Church” by Ernest Trice Thompson, or more recent books  “The False White Gospel” by Jim Wallis, “The End of Theological Education” by Ted Smith, and of course, the book that Dr. Catherine Meeks and I wrote called “Passionate for Justice.”). The moral bankruptcy of Christian nationalists shows how low we in the church world have sunk.

    This split between spirituality and justice means that most mainline churches have little community or engagement with those who are poor.  For us Presbyterians, we believe in a rigid order of worship which emphasizes our educational level and our desire not to display any vulnerability.  In that sense, we are almost saying that we are giving God a break by coming to worship Her together in a building whose history and existence have proclaimed to those who are poor that they are not welcome.  We may have many commendable church programs which seek to serve those in need, but we have rarely seen those in need as prospects for our community of faith.  For Black worshippers and for those who are poor, worship of God is life-giving because when they step out of the church sanctuary, the forces of racism and sexism and materialism await them to seek to crush them.  Those of us in mainline churches have not often been aware of this chasm, much less sought to bridge that gap.

    With these forces at work among us, it is no surprise that the white mainline American churches are in trouble – indeed, though there are notable exceptions, most of our churches are in hospice, waiting for a dignified death.  There are possible answers and signs of hope for the mainline American church, and next week, I will look briefly at those.  In the meantime, I’ll be glad to get your comments on this – what other causes for the demise of the church would you cite?

"REFORMATION SUNDAY"

 “REFORMATION SUNDAY”

This Sunday, October 26, is Reformation Sunday, and it marks the 508th anniversary of Roman Catholic monk Martin Luther posting 95 theses for debate about the nature of the church – legend has it that he posted them on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany.  His actions were part of a movement to reform the church, but his actions also helped to spark a revolution in Western thinking and led to what we now know as the “Reformation.” He posted his articles for debate on All Hallows Eve,  also called  Halloween, and it led to a tidal wave of new religious organizations known as “Protestants,” or those who protested the Catholic religious order of the time.  

The Reformation, as its name implies, was a restructuring of what people believed, how people worshipped together, and how church bodies were organized and governed.  It was a re-formation that lasted over 500 years, but now that system of religious order in the West is beginning to break down.  We are currently in a time of another reformation in Western religious structures and understandings, and it will be a while before we understand how this new reformation will shake out and re-structure.  In my humble approach, I want to look at some of the causes and maybe some of the new directions that the church in the West will take for the rest of this century.  Today, I’ll share background – next week the causes, then the next week, some possible new directions.  

The mainline white churches of the West are dying – though there is some discussion about it, there is little debate about it.  Since Caroline and I have been retired, we have worshipped in many churches, including the one with which we are now affiliated – North Decatur Presbyterian (NDPC).  While NDPC is alive and dynamic, most of the others where we have worshipped are not.  Most of them are struggling to survive.  Saddled with huge and deteriorating buildings and shrinking memberships and funding, these communities of faith are holding on by their fingernails, most with old, dedicated members whose loyalty keeps the institution going.  Some have endowments that helps with budgetary issues, but there are deeper issues, like a lack of younger people and families, an unwelcoming atmosphere, and a lack of a community vision.

As I begin this discussion, I want to say that the church will never be dead.  God will call forth the communities of faith whom She wishes, and people will always be responding to that call.  So, while the current form of church in the Western world may be on life support, the church of God in Jesus will not be confined to this slow death.  Though we are not experts on this history of the church, we do have experience with it through our long ministry at Oakhurst.  Oakhurst was a dying church with a huge and deteriorating building, shrinking membership, and dwindling budget.  I will use this experience as a springboard for these thoughts.  

Right off, my mind goes to a story from former Oakhurst member Nancy Friauf, who wrote about her decision to bring herself and her young bi-racial girls to Oakhurst.  I want to share part of that story that she wrote for a Stewardship season reflection in 1998: “Since my daughter was young, I have been searching for a church home in Atlanta.  Every few weeks I would visit another congregation that I thought might fit.  Many were nice, but not what I was looking for.  I wanted a church that was racially mixed, where my family’s racial diversity would not be tolerated or ignored, but embraced. I hoped to find a place that was not so liberal they were afraid to talk about God, but not so conservative that I would have to struggle to find God in their message.”

I am grateful to Nancy for sharing this (and for her joining Oakhurst – she was a great leader there until she retired to Florida.).  Her insights point to a fundamental split in American church history – spirituality vs. justice.  Given the influence of slavery and neo-slavery in American culture, churches in America have often had to choose between the two. But, they can be combined into a wholistic pattern, and I shall look at that later.  Her insights also point to another fundamental problem for the Western church – we have been exclusive, judgmental, and mean.  Next week, I’ll look at these and other causes for the Western church’s demise – let me know your thoughts and comments on this.

"INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY"

 “INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY”

Since we are currently in the overlap between the beginning phase of the Israeli ceasefire in attacking Gaza and between Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and since the Trumpster and the MAGA white supremacist movement have disavowed IPD and proclaimed it once again Columbus Day, I am reposting a blog from 2022, which touches on the same themes.

{The following are short excerpts from a much longer work of poetry and prose by Layli Long Soldier from her book “Whereas,” drawing on the official US government language of the Resolution and Apology.  She is a recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Native Artist Fellowship, and a Whiting Award.  She lives in Santa Fe.  I was introduced to her work by one of her poems in worship at North Decatur Presbyterian Church.  As I write this, Israel and Hamas are at war, and I am thinking of the many parallels of the white treatment of Native Americans and the Israeli treatment of the Palestinian people.}

“WHEREAS” BY LAYLI LONG SOLDIER

“On Saturday, December 19, 2009, US President Barack Obama signed the Congressional Resolution of Apology to Native Americans.  No tribal leaders or official representatives were invited to witness and revive the Apology on behalf of tribal nations.  President Obama never read the Apology aloud, publicly – although, for the record, Senator Sam Brownback five months later read the Apology to a gathering of five tribal leaders, though there are more than 560 federally recognized tribes in the US.  The Apology was then folded into a larger, unrelated piece of legislation called the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act.

My response is directed to the Apology’s delivery, as well as the language, crafting, and arrangement of the written document.  I am a citizen of the United States and an enrolled member of Oglala Sioux Tribe, meaning I am a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation – and in this dual citizenship, I must work, I must eat, I must art, I must mother, I must friend, I must listen, I must observe, constantly, I must live. 

Whereas at four years old I read the first chapter of the Bible aloud I was not a Christian

Whereas my hair unbraided ran the length of my spine I sometimes sat on it

Whereas at the table my legs dangled I could not balance peas on my fork

Whereas I used my fingers carefully I pushed the bright green onto silver tines

Whereas you eat like a pig the lady said setting my plate on the floor

Whereas she instructed me to finish on my hands and knees she took another bite

Whereas I watched folds of pale curtains inhale and exhale a summer dance

Whereas in the breath of the afternoon room each tick of the clock

Whereas I rose and placed my eyes and tongue on a shelf above the table first

Whereas I kneeled to my plate I kneeled to the greatest questions

Whereas that moment I knew who I was whereas the moment before I swallowed”

"WE MUST HOLD"

 “WE MUST HOLD”

When our son David was in elementary school, he played on a local soccer team.  In his first year, most of the soccer games looked like a scrum in rugby – all the players surrounded the ball and sought to kick it free.  Somewhere in one of those years, his coach had to be away for one of the games, and since I came to every game anyway, the coach asked me to sub for him as coach for that one game.  I said “Yes,” but the problem was that I knew very little about soccer.  When I gathered the players to get ready for the game, it was obvious that they knew more than I did about soccer.  Caroline took a photo of my “coach’s” meeting with the team before the game began, and David can be seen rolling his eyes at my instructions.  And, his response was accurate – I hardly knew what I was talking about.

I felt that sense of lostness for our country this past week as I watched some of the news coverage of the Trumpster’s and Hegseth’s talks to the leadership of the world’s most powerful military, generals and admirals who had been dragged from all over the world to hear speeches from men who had never served in the military, speeches designed to tell them to do something unconstitutional – send the national military into mostly Democratic cities, ostensibly to deal with the “crime” problem.  Though they did not roll their eyes (as David did), their stony silence rang loudly – who are these guys?

And, that is the question for us as we face up to the fact that the Trumpster seems hell-bent on ending our democracy and establishing an oligarchy, an authoritarian government run by rich people.  Whether he will act decisively to reduce the government during the shutdown, as he has said so often that he will do, his intent to shrink the depth and breadth of the federal government sees clear.  In order to do this, he is eviscerating both the legislative and the judicial branches of government, a hollowing out that we must seek to prevent at all costs.  Our resistance must be deep and strong.  What can we do?  Here are several suggestions, and I would welcome more from you.

We must speak up and act out.  Wherever we encounter Trumpism, we must stand against it.  We must resist with our words and our actions.  Caroline and I have been to many protests around the metro Atlanta area, and we must continue those.  Write letters to the editors, organize your friends and acquaintances (and call them out if necessary).  There is no longer room for compromise or deals, hoping that Trump will stand down or dilute his work.  His henchmen Russell Vought and Stephen Miller are feeling the vibe, and they intend to take it as far as they can.  We must speak and act against these, wherever we are and whenever we are.

Second, none of us will survive this onslaught alone, so find like-minded friends and acquaintances and build communities of resistance.  There are many groups out there who are already working on this, so join one or more of those. We will survive only by building cohesive and active communities of solidarity and resistance.

Third, register yourself to vote and make sure that all of your acquaintances are registered to vote.  Though this seems simple, it is absolutely essential.  We mounted a huge campaign to elect Barack Obama as president in 2008, and we must repeat that energy level again – our constitutional democracy depends upon it.  This may sound dire or even trite, but Trump 2.0 has proved much more aggressive and destructive than he was in his first term.  He must be stopped, first at the mid-terms and then in 2028.

Fourth, don’t forget the power of art to move hearts, minds and souls.  Go to plays about this (or write one yourself); go to movies about this; write poetry about it (yes, we all are poets), share laments with others (as long as those laments do not paralyze you).  Use the power of language to speak the truth and to call out the Trumpsters.  It is no coincidence that Trump is seeking to curtail opposition speech and actions, because he knows how powerful speech can be as a tool of resistance.

And, finally (for now), be bold in your witness.  Now is not the time to be timid or unsure about this.  The Trumpster is on a mission to destroy us as a democratic people, whether he is alive to see the transition or not.  We will not be able to count on the unseen hand of democracy to prevail.  It is now up to us to speak out and act up.  Order your steps and get going!