Your Legacy, Speaking of Ecclesiastes

I don’t know why exactly, but lately I have been intrigued with Ecclesiastes in my devotional time. My last seminary course in Texas this summer was a survey of Old Testament prophets and wisdom literature with Dr. Ngan, who by the way is one of the coolest professors to ever live. Since it was an accelerated course we didn’t spend much time in Ecclesiastes, but I still vividly recall Dr. Ngan’s expressed love and passion for the book’s powerfully simplistic message.

Ecclesiastes is a little odd, some might say. There is much discussion of eating, drinking, and working (2:24), and this idea that, “…everything is just as senseless as chasing the wind.” (1:14, 2:11) Solomon even laments, “Like animals we breathe and die, and we are no better off than they are. It just doesn’t make sense….Who really knows if our spirits go up and the spirits of animals go down into the earth? (3:19-21)

Unlike my conservative or fundamentalist brethren, I am of the opinion that Ecclesiastes is best taken with a grain of salt being that some of Solomon’s directives are suspect, to say the very least. His comments are perhaps best classified as a literary therapy session with God, sort of like writing in a journal. Through God, his words contain explicit good/bad, as well as implicit good/bad about life. It is all relative to what the entire body of Scripture contends.

Ecclesiastes 7:1 says, “A good reputation at the time of death is better than loving care at the time of birth.” This got me to thinking about legacy. You know, the concept that once you are gone you inherently leave a footprint on the world. No one escapes this truth. We all have an impact. The only variable involves what message your legacy will leave. You can’t control who is impacted by your legacy only the contents of its message. I am not responsible for your legacy nor are you mine. I am not responsible for your choices nor are you mine.

In today’s culture legacy is largely spoken of exclusively in fiduciary terms: retirement portfolio, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), life insurance, Last Will and Testament, the ability to send one's children to college, etc. It is good surely to be concerned with what material things we can pass on to our loved ones and others in order to ease their burden upon our departure from this life. I guess my concern, however, notwithstanding this reality is that we seldom spend time investing in the more substantive intangibles. But, again on an individual level this speaks to what we want the contents of our legacy to be, what we value.

Being a minister is cool no doubt, but what legacy does God desire me to leave? Do I preach as a prophet or for prophet to give people an emotional thrill and in doing so line my pockets?

Being a husband is an honor, but what legacy does God require me to leave? Is it okay to neglect the spiritual and emotional needs of my better half all in the name of procuring financial security?

Do you ever reflect on how the world’s concept of legacy exists in direct opposition to God’s concept, and perhaps how even though you mean well your life’s song may play a melody that is more in-tune with the world’s producer?

What legacy are you building? Are you living in such a way that upon your departure from this earth a good reputation will live-on?

Will your children say that you were a hypocrite, or your spouse that you were emotionally unavailable, or your friends that you conceited, or your neighbors that you were indifferent to their struggles?

More importantly, will God call you a fool? (see Luke 12:13-21, Matthew 25:31-46)

T-Bar Row/Shrug

I really enjoy working out. Not rock-climbing, hiking in the mountains or any sort of extreme sporting activities, but being active still. One day should God bless us in such a way I would love to have a nice sized gym in our home. Nothing over-the-top that is full of expensive equipment that we don't regularly use, or can't because it is too intricate. Just something reasonably priced and functional that helps serve as a catalyst for our lifelong health. Going to the gym every morning, although we do it now, gets old after a while. I am all for having a small athletic field of artificial turf in our backyard one day. Maybe even my own indoor basketball court and pool. Hey, we all can dream, can't we? Well, speaking of dreams, this T-Bar Row/Shrug machine is great, and is on my wish list. Considering some of the aforementioned dreams, being that it is much more afforable and conducive to our life right now (regarding space, etc.) it would be cool to have it. But, I am not complaining. I have learned that character is built, at least in part, by contentment and gratefulness. Off to the gym I go...

A Clip of My Sermon

Goodwill

This afternoon while on my way home after having run some errands I decided to stop at the neighborhood Goodwill. Shopping isn’t something that I really enjoy or actively engage in that often, but from time to time I will pick up a few frugal articles of clothing if I am in the mood. In a few previous impromptu excursions to Goodwill some weeks ago they lacked any sports coats or collar shirts in my size, the only two items that I am usually ever interested in purchasing…again though, only at a frugal price, which surely isn't hard to come by at Goodwill.

Well, today the planets must have aligned properly on my behalf because I actually found a few items that fit, much to my surprise. While walking to my car after having paid for everything I felt compelled to reflect upon how ridiculously blessed I am. Context is important here, but even still it is only a small piece of the puzzle.

Believe me. At this stage of life there exists no proverbial dough on my financial countertop for me to roll in. I am not ballin’ by any means; not even a little bit. Nope. I am far from it. And while it would honestly be helpful (and cool) to have more financial flexibility in the near future than I do now, I am okay with this non-baller status. It doesn’t seem to me that Christ is a proponent of the mentality that accompanies it anyway.

Nonetheless, while I may not be ballin’ by the standards of most upwardly mobile, middle to upper-middleclass Americans who are concerned with keeping up with the Jones’ at the end of the cul-de-sac (which many of us do regardless of income level), given the harsh, obstacle-filled realities that countless Americans and other global citizens face each day as a way of life in comparison to their context I am at least quasi-ballin’. This is what got me thinking this afternoon.

Just think about it. I shopped today at Goodwill by choice not necessity. And in doing so given my financial resources (as limited in my mind as they may be in the grand scheme of things) I could have purchased a lot more than I did, within reason of course. I don’t like the idea that there are people out there who shop at a places Goodwill or the Salvation Army because financially they have no other option, but I have seen too much of life to know that it is true. I certainly don’t have all of the answers (not like there is just one “right” answer anyway) as to how to curb that reality for so many, even how to best communicate God’s love and power to them in ways that are as empowering in the spiritual realm as in the physical.

At the very least, however, what I do know is that I can help by remaining humble, extremely grateful (unworthy even), and generous about all that God has blessed me with, even though, especially though it isn’t much to a certain segment of society. To them nothing will ever really be enough. The least that I can do is live my life in such a way as to not become yet another Christian purveyor of conspicuous consumption. I can be benevolent, caring, genuine, and empathetic. I can choose to live in the world, yes, but refuse to become another robot who has co-opted its value system. I can at least try.

For me, my living in this manner is not at all in vain nor is it sheer liberal morality. My perspective on the matter is shaped by the work of the Holy Spirit, my eternal tutor, within me, along with a deep sense of calling to reflect Godly values in my approach to life, which inherently requires rejecting that which the world holds dear or deems acceptable to the extent that it contradicts Christ. This is a response to God’s love not a requirement to receive God’s love.

I am still “under construction” like the next man. Lord knows that I am. I pray that God will use me in exciting ways to communicate Christ to others. This, I suppose, is just one small step in a path of many to come in that direction.

Ordination (Just Call Me "Rev.")

I must say that ordination was much more meaningful than I ever thought that it would be. By no means did I grow up feeling a calling to vocational ministry, but upon surrendering to God’s will in that regard I have given it some thought along the way. Still, however, I never really knew what to expect nor did I feel an assurance that I would ever even be ordained.

When we don’t fit people’s stereotypical images of some position it is easy for them to write us off. These stereotypes, as stereotypes often go, are incomplete or dysfunctional on their own merit, but for some reason many people keep on believing: one must hold the infamous Master of Divinity (or M.Div.) for ordination; one must exclusively plan to pastor a church for the rest of their life for ordination; one must be a dynamic public speaker who is an extroverted people person, perhaps even a people pleaser for ordination. Loving God, God’s word, God’s people and feeling called by God (followed up with at least some affirmation of that call by others) to change the world with the gospel message in new and creative ways should be enough, but for some it isn’t and probably will never be.

This process has taught me once again that it isn’t good to cling the desire for certain accomplishments, especially those that aren’t ultimately critical to our ability to be effective for God. I can do much for the Kingdom without being ordained. I can represent the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed. I can pastor a church effectively and help bring holistic restoration to many hurting people. Ordination, much like seminary training or a host of other things in life which are indeed helpful, is not a requirement from God to be used by God. Accepting that truth helped me come to terms with my unique sense of vocational calling from God some time ago.

Now that I have been ordained (or put another way “anointed” or “appointed”) I am sincerely grateful for all that it represents, but still very cognizant of what it does not and cannot. I feel special, but quite normal; and, if we are going to 'tell the truth and shame the devil,' then we have to recognize that this sense of tension is a good thing to have.

I am thankful to all those who believe that God might use me in a mighty way. Thank you for your prayers, friendship and encouragement. This is what William Barclay offers to the conversation: “One of the highest human duties is the duty of encouragement. It is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.”[1]

[1] Charles Swindoll, Encourage Me: Caring Words for Heavy Hearts (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1993), 53.

The First Black President: Barack Obama, Race, Politics, and the American Dream

This is a great new book, The First Black President: Barack Obama, Race, Politics, and the American Dream ($28) by Dr. Johnny B. Hill, Assistant Professof of Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary: "The First Black President is a critical and passionate reflection on the political and historical implications of an Obama administration concerning the issue of race in America. I intend to argue that Obama’s rise to political power has forever changed the contours of race relations in the country as many hail the new age of a “post-racial” society. Yet, what I also show is that an Obama presidency could further complicate real racial progress and could set race relations back in the country for decades to come if not viewed in the proper context. I demonstrate that the Obama presidency must be celebrated as a historical triumph based on America’s racist past, yet the struggle for equality, justice and freedom must also intensify with recognition of its global consequences. The problem of race in America no longer just affects its own citizens but impacts cultures around the globe."

Mozella Johnson Seymore (1901-2009)

I recently found out that my great-grandmother died on September 18, 2009 in Adel, GA at the age of 108. I only know of one time that I met her, on account of the video footage of me as a husky toddler dancing (probably in route to doing something mischievous) during a big family reunion down south many years ago. I wish that I had been able to spend some time with her as an adult. I wish that I knew more about her life. Who knows, perhaps one day I will?

Wombs for Rent?

"Are babies being bought and sold in the United States?"

My wife and I watched this story last night. Many people struggle with loneliness (which ought to be addressed holistically), but it is sad still to see adults so unwilling to accept their inability to conceive naturally. When people are willing to pay a woman to birth a child for them or to take their chances with IVF, for me the situation generally oozes with selfishness. When did it become taboo and unreasonable for a couple that was infertile to simply accept that reality and adopt if they still desired children? Children are indeed a blessing, but they ought not be the subject of ill-adjusted, emotionally unstable adults who want what they want when they want it like toddlers in a toy store. There is a problem when conception becomes a lesson in selfishness. Why are suburban, middle/upper-middleclass adults especially so afraid of and unwilling to accept what God has established to be a reality in our lives? Might it be a skewed sense of divine entitlement?

Fear of a Black President

(this is a great article in Religion Dispatches by Dr. Jonathan Walton)

Ever the statesman, and often candid to a political fault, President Jimmy Carter asserted this week that much of the animosity directed toward President Barack Obama is “based on the fact that he is a black man.”

A lifelong Southerner, Carter acknowledged that the inclination of racism still exists, and that “it has bubbled up to the surface because of the belief among many white people, not just in the South but around the country, that African Americans are not qualified to lead this great country.”

Though courageous, the former president’s pronouncement will surely be considered controversial to many Republicans and Democrats alike. Some will view Carter’s comments as politically inexpedient. The topic of race in general, and charges of racism in particular, is political dynamite that typically explodes in the hands of the accuser—just ask Professor Skip Gates, Governor David Patterson, or President Barack Obama (the latter of whom I will return to momentarily).

Unless someone is wearing a Klan hood while yelling “Nigger, Go Back to Africa,” the charge of racism seems to offend the accused these days more than the actual victims. This is true, in part, due to the most prevalent view of the problem of race and racism in this country. In the eyes of many, the responsibility of moving beyond racial conflict in America is placed at the feet of minority communities of color as opposed to the dominant society. We’ve all heard it. America will move beyond race to a colorblind society only when minority groups cease dwelling on difference. Such a view permeates the melting pot ideal of American folklore, the myth of meritocracy, and even the “post-racial” dimension of electoral politics. Thus for President Carter to call out this segment of the white community, he is disrupting the conspiracy of silence concerning racial injustice that demands the allegiance of politicians on the national scene.

Think about it. Is this not the racial bargain that Barack Obama accepted to become the nation’s first African American president? Matters pertaining to race have been avoided unless absolutely necessary (cough, cough, Rev. Wright). And in terms of policy, obstacles faced by any particular group, like disproportionate unemployment among communities of color for example, are obfuscated by anemic and ineffectual broad-based prescriptions. Rising tides lift all boats, right?

Yet President Obama’s enormous success in life, whether as a highly educated community organizer or as America’s commander-in-chief, exposes the paradox this sort of faux post-racialism presents. It’s a one-sided deal for people of color; as “post-racial” in effect means post-black, post-brown, post-red, and post-yellow, while leaving the normative racial framework of whiteness intact. Race is the challenge people of color must confront and dare I say, “get over.” But a post-racial America does not demand the same of those who identify with, and claim the social construction of, whiteness and perceived privileges and cultural superiority therein.

This is why, it would seem, Barack Obama’s body standing behind the American presidential seal has a critical segment of America losing its hold on reality—a reality, I would argue, few have ever been forced to acknowledge up to this point. Whether it’s the birthers, tea-baggers, deathers, indoctrinators, or “You lie!”-ers, they have neither veiled their racial animus nor cloaked their white nationalism. The prevalence of racist images of President Obama brandished by protesters juxtaposed with calls of “taking our country back” are reminiscent of D.W. Griffith’s fictional America as depicted in Birth of a Nation. And the pride with which this segment of society has rallied the troops around its shared sense of whiteness reveals that their skin color is the one true object of pledged allegiance and determinant of professed patriotism. [See “Unregulated Capitalism and Christian Fervor: Report from the 9/12 Rally at the Capitol” from Sept. 17, 2009].

Herein lies President Carter’s perceptive point. President Obama can’t win with these folks because they are blinded not just by his race but also by an uncritical devotion to their own. His pigmentation rather than his policies cut against the grain of what these persons wrongly consider “natural” or “American.” More specifically, his very being is a haunting rejoinder to such white Americans of what they are not—indeed what they have never been. This African American man with an Arabic name has dared to usurp all of the cultural and cognitive tropes that white supremacy has historically claimed for itself. He is calm in the face of their unrestrained emotion. The more illogical they act the more rational he comes across. And, of course, the more eloquent and erudite he presents himself, the more he provokes the Joe Wilsons of the world to mindlessly blurt out, “You lie!”

In the process, President Obama has transformed such opponents into the racial other, an uneducated and uncultured blob of white (and largely Southern) backwardness that is beyond the pale of social redemption or acculturation. Joe Wilson and the remaining Sons of Confederate Veterans have, in effect, become this “black man’s burden.”

Maybe this helps explain Glenn Beck’s ridiculous yet probably heartfelt assertion that the president has a “deep-seated hatred for white people.” The president reminds Beck, along with those who identify with Beck's form of neo-white nationalism, of the lie of their own professed superiority—a place of comfort and privilege in America that was neither deserved nor ever attained, yet still claimed based on the pinkness of their skin and straightness of hair. President Obama’s apparent success only further dismantles this lie and pours salt in socially insecure wounds.

Similar can be said of those who need the president to be Adolf Hitler. If Obama is Hitler, that means protestors can liken themselves unto the Jews; only this time it’s a victimized yet devout group of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who want nothing more than to restore a nation that God, or more appropriately Jefferson Davis, decreed as divinely their own. The ability to make such ludicrous claims on conservative radio, Fox News, and on Capitol Hill, however, represents the kind of power that they unduly still possess. As tasteless as Joe Wilson’s heckling of the president was last week, it still takes an immense level of privilege to be a jerk on the floor of Congress.

My point here is simply that the problem of race in America has never been solely or predominantly a minority issue. It is first and foremost, as President Carter claims, a problem of whiteness.

Just as racial segregation in Joe Wilson’s fond memories of idyllic South Carolina was less about black people but a matter of white phobia, the lie of whiteness projects its fears upon minority bodies like the president’s in hopes of maintaining its own unhealthy and unrealistic sense of being in charge. This is why James Baldwin rightly suggested years ago that “the vast amount of the energy that goes into what we call the ‘Negro problem’ is produced by the white man’s profound desire not to be judged by those who are not white.”

I believe this applies to our current president and his most vocal critics. If he is framed as the foreigner, incarnate evil, and indoctrinating Nazi, many won’t have to acknowledge that he may just be smart, sophisticated, and a devout patriot. God forbid. And if he is, what does that make them?

Gang Leader for a Day

A few months ago I read Sudhir Venkatesh's Gang Leader for a Day: A Rouge Sociologist Takes to the Streets. It is definitely a worthwhile investment of your money and time. I had such a good time reading it that after I read the paperpack I bought the CD audiobook version, so that my wife and I could listen to it while on the road during our recent travels. As a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago (he now is a sociology professor at Columbia University) what Venkatesh did, immersing himself in Chicago's public housing projects for upwards of ten years, is surely not for everyone. Nonetheless, the book is seemingly an honest memoir of his experiences there that can be used to dismantle stereotypes on both sides of the equation. Academic types, not to mention those from privileged racial and socio-economic straits whose lives have been devoid of meaningful interaction with those outside of their community, are often thought to be naive and even ignorant about how their research can/should (and hopefully will) contribute to positive change in the real world with real people in mind, let alone real people in the real world who perhaps don't look like them. Similarly, however, the glamorized thought surrounding those who are confined to life in the typical American ghetto is that they are lazy, unintelligent, and largely dependant on the government for subsistence. Venkatesh's work should help us to realize that no matter how hard you try to slice it, it just isn't that simple. A good heart filled with an earnest desire to learn, serve, and affect positive change on behalf of those who may be "less fortunate" is admirable and needed. It is a good starting point. Yet, we must understand also that the hood isn't filled with subjects to study or mere statistics to compile, nor sad circumstances to pity and pontificate about. Rather it is replete with human beings who, just like us all, have stories to tell, who need help and whose help we also need. I hope that someday a work like Venkatesh's might be required reading for seminary students, and even more significant that his brand of rough-and-rugged urban education might be developed into a means of introducing ministers to what real missional or immersion ministry is about: learning the pros and cons, do's and don'ts, good and bad about a culture (or subculture) whose values are different than your own. For the Christian it ought to be about respectfully learning the rules of engagement in order to better communicate the principles of Christ to that specific population. St. Francis of Assisi suggested, "Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” Moreover, Paul put it this way: "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)