Non Sequitur

Posted: May 10, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Latin: “It does not follow.” An observation in logic that there is a disconnect between the premise of an argument and its conclusion. For instance:

God bless our snipers

Photo taken by Tim Carson in Columbia, Missouri, May 9, 2013

The premise is that somehow God would want snipers to prevail and kill as many of one tribe’s enemies as possible. This assumption is made against the backdrop that God created members of both tribes, the tribe doing the shooting and the tribe being shot.

Certain other information clears up non sequiturs, however. In this case, the fine print in the lower right hand corner is a web site address belonging to LaRue Tactical, a manufacturer of high powered sniper rifles. They have created a prayerful bumper sticker that seeks God’s blessing for their product, in this case, sniper rifles. God bless the snipers who buy and use our product, the sniper rifles. God bless the supply and demand, the success of our enterprise. That conclusion completely follows its premise, namely, that we want the product we design blessed by God in order to increase our prosperity. It’s terrible theology that creates a monstrous God. But the logic buried in the fine print is internally consistent.

To place the petition in some relief, I translated it into Arabic to see what “God bless our snipers” looks like in the sacred language of Muslims:

الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نظرنا القناصة

That may feel different. Especially if we saw it on the windshield of a car in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen or Boston.

Yes, God bless our snipers. Always on the right side of history. Always eliminating the right people. In the name of God. Bless them.

More Nones Than Before

Posted: May 7, 2013 in Uncategorized
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In response to Pew research that indicated the fastest religiously growing demographic is “unaffiliated” a research team at the University of Missouri has conducted a two-year study of the phenomenon. The result of Project 573 is hours of interviews with a variety of religious and cultural groups to study the issue.

One of the recent video sessions included participants from many faith groups addressing the issue. Click here to listen to the far-ranging discussion.

Bike riding with my father after his funeral

Posted: May 7, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Good friend Klara just lost her father. Like many of us who have lost a parent, we have traversed their last days, even last minutes. Our pathway included rituals of farewell through wakes and funerals. And then there was cleaning out the house, taking care of final details, securing the death certificates…

What is not always shared are the kind of things Klara does. As a person with a very logical, scientific orientation I think she was surprised by what she experienced. Her words will strike a chord with many who have felt the same thing. I share with her blessings:

“When I traveled back to be with my father in his last days his soul seemed to go in and out of his body. He just seems to be so much “alive” now since his failing body stopped restricting him. He’s kind of with me everywhere I go … just like he always wanted to. There is sure more to life than death and I’ve had an extra guardian angel since.

I had drafted my father’s death announcement the day before I rode the 70 miles for the MS bike-a-thon. Somehow he was with me, enjoying the sights as we rode, I could tell. I flew to Switzerland the next day to help with the funeral. When the flag was flying in the wind during the anthem before the bike ride, I swear my Dad was there watching it with me.

My parents often walked to the forest and lit candles in the woods for All Saints. I always felt like my father’s father was with me. I never observed how visible it can seem when a soul comes and goes. Life is amazing and wonderful, even after death … if we let it!”

Burmese Congregation Nests at Broadway

Posted: May 6, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Beginning May 5, a Burmese Christian congregation began worshiping at Broadway Christian Church in the basement area of the office complex. Leaders and members from Broadway welcomed them to their new home on Sunday when they began worshiping at what would become their regular time, 11:30 a.m.

The relationship with Broadway began through Broadway’s free community garden in which many Burmese grow their own food. That led to another dimension of hospitality, hosting them for worship in the Broadway building. For Broadway this is an affirmation of Christian unity, creating bridges of cultural understanding and peace and the practice of Christian hospitality.

For the full story you may want to read today’s feature in the Columbia Missourian.

Brian McLaren in Columbia

Posted: May 5, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Just heard Brian McLaren present on a new way Christians might view and present themselves to the world. One important aspect is getting over the sense that one’s identity is only exercised through hostility toward the other. Instead of a strong/hostile orientation one works on a strong/benevolent one – in which one’s strong identity as a Christian leads to compassion for those of other faiths.

In today’s supercharged political/hostile environment the primary response to different opinion that we experience is hostility; why you are an evil fool to have an opinion that differs from mine. So how does one respond to the knee-jerk hostility in our culture? First, not by feeding or reacting to it. But second, and perhaps more importantly, by expressing simply and clearly that you do not agree. As he taught the crowd to say in unison: “Wow! I really see that differently.” Then walk away or say you can discuss it later.

So when someone blasts you and labels you as the devil’s henchman, don’t feed the hostility of the other. Neither reinforce nor overreact to it. A simple “Wow, I really see that differently” is sufficient. They can deal with their own hostility. And if they are curious they might ask why you do see it differently. Tell them without painting them as a monster.

On the Edge of 100

Posted: May 2, 2013 in Uncategorized
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She is almost 100 years old. I pray that I have half the mental capacity that she has if I should be so blessed to arrive at her age in one piece. One of the most interesting things in the world is to ask someone about the events of history who has lived through them. And she is one of those.

We ticked through some of the ordinary things like place of birth and family. But then I got specific. From her age I estimated the time of her childhood and adolescence and asked about those epochs. “Tell me about your memory of the great depression and F.D.R.,” I said.

She said she remembered it vividly, that and rising to WWII. They were bleak times, she said, but memorable. When Roosevelt came in with the New Deal it brought hope to a nation in despair. Her income at the time moved from $4.00 a day to $16.00 a day through the minimum wage initiative. Employers said they couldn’t say in business, but they did and the quality of workers’ lives improved.

“When Social Security first came out it was resisted mightily. It barely squeaked through. The opposition was screaming that it would bankrupt us and our whole economy would collapse, we could never afford it. I remember reading all kinds of articles in the papers of the time written by end times preachers who opposed Social Security. They said that at the end we would all be assigned a number – the number of the beast – and that was your Social Security number. Of course that never happened, but at the time it alarmed me as a young person, which is what they wanted to happen. This kind of thing happened all through my life. Whenever a big initiative was made to move forward, to correct or improve things, whether it was Medicare or civil rights, there was always great acrimony. I guess that’s what it took, a big political storm. But at the end of the day the good things prevailed.”

Just knew you would want to know …

Posted: April 28, 2013 in Uncategorized
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So I’ve served four congregations over the span of thirty years or so. That’s a lot of people, weddings, funerals, baptisms and all the rest. And it is not unusual to hear from a thoughtful soul from one of these past congregations updating me on some important development, most usually who has most recently passed on to glory. It’s not that I’m necessarily supposed to do something. Rather, it’s just something to know and tell.

As I mentioned to my flock this morning, I received a message on the church answering machine with an important announcement: “Pastor Tim, I just knew you would want to know this. We had an important death in the congregation. they died on such and such a day and the funeral will be on such and such a day at such and such time. Just knew you would want to know, thanks.” End of message.

Well, I appreciate being included in the loop. It’s just that the caller didn’t leave their name, the congregation or the name of the deceased! Very good intentions but I just know they didn’t accomplish their original purpose for calling.

And that made me think about many of our good intentions no matter what they are. So often the failure of our delivery system scuttles the importance of our message. One time I received a hand addressed envelop to yours truly. After opening it with my letter opener I pulled out the creamy stationary and unfolded it. The sender had gone to so much trouble. The only problem was they forgot to write the note they intended – a blank piece of paper. Well, it’s better than hate mail!

What we actually desire and do so often falls short of our intentions and hopes. Jesus always addressed the level of intentions, the thoughts of the heart that lead to outcomes. And maybe that is the place to begin here, to recognize that the original intention, no matter how successful in implementation, had the right spirit about it. We can forgive one another for the partial messages and blank pieces of paper because we all do something like it one time or another. But maybe we should thank God for all the good intentions of the heart that at least wanted to do the right thing. That is, after all, what really matters.

They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I don’t think so. I think the road to heaven is.

Roots and Blues

Posted: April 26, 2013 in Uncategorized
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So guess who’s going to be the official sponsor of the new Sunday afternoon Gospel Brunch at the Roots and Blues Festival in Columbia next September? That’s right, Broadway Christian Church.

Headliner: Mavis Staples

Go prowl around here.

Burmese Christians soon to worship at Broadway

Posted: April 25, 2013 in Uncategorized
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As a result of our involvement with both our large community garden program and immigration and refugee services here in Columbia, we have become connected to a group of Burmese Christians. When it came time for them to seek a church where they might meet for worship they approached Broadway. With the enthusiastic embrace of this possibility by our Serve (MOM) team, Property, Executive Committee and Board, a community of around 25 men, women and children will begin meeting for worship at Broadway on May 5. They will meet in our basement area. We have selected the 11:30 a.m. time so that adult Christian education will be finished and our worshipers attending the Contemporary service will already be in the sanctuary.

Please welcome our guests when you see them. We consider nesting this congregation an act of Christian hospitality and affirmation of our basic unity in Christ. We also look forward to future opportunities in which our two communities might join in some shared time together, such as over a meal. Stay tuned!

New Facebook Page! Please Like!

Posted: April 24, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Hey there, I’ve just opened a new Facebook page for The Square Root of God.

Go check it out! And if you like me then like me!

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