The Gospel According to James Baldwin

Perhaps you’ve read a lot of Baldwin’s writing, or not. Perhaps you’ve watched I Am Not Your Negro, or perhaps you haven’t yet. Chances are, one quote or another of his has come acrocross your social media screen and you caught it, and perhaps thought about it for a moment, like “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

Greg Garrett calls this “a wisdom book on his work,” and I think I’ll love reading it, based on thumbing through the slim volume a few times. “James Baldwin has been weighing down my backpack, my syllabi, and my heart because this Black gay expatriate writer is and always will be an exquisitely thoughtful guide to What Matters, whether in the Age of Kennedy, the Age of Trump, or the Age of Whatever Comes Next,” he writes on page 8.

I think the book, organized into six portion sizes of about 30 pages, promises to inspire thought and conversation, and perhaps you’d like to read it with me later this summer. We could meet over coffee or a beer, or, if there are more than two or three of us, in my study at church (coffee or tea are still options) If you’re interested, please let me know by the end of June so we can determine what days and times might be best.

BBC Radio has called Greg Garrett one of America’s essential voices on religion and culture. His work has been featured in a wide range of media from The National Review to National Public Radio to The Christian Century. The Carole McDaniel Hanks Professor of Literature and Culture at Baylor University, Greg has been a visiting fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for Relgion and Culture and is Canon Theologian at the American Cathedral in Paris. He is author of two dozen books of nonfiction including A Long, Long Way: Hollywood’s Unfinished Journey from Racism to Reconciliation.

The False White Gospel

“You couldn’t make a more preposterous claim than that Christianity is compatible with nationalism,” said David Bentley Hart. It’s the kind of thing that ought to go without saying, but needs to be said when white nationalists claim to be followers of Jesus. 

In his new book, The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy, Jim Wallis urges his readers to join him in pushing back against the “old heresy” and dismantling it.

Wallis, the founder of Sojourners and the inaugural Archbishop Desmond Tutu Chair in Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, is a a globally respected writer, teacher, preacher, and justice advocate.

In what Publishers Weekly called an “ardent manifesto,” he lifts up the parable of the Samaritan to question those who “deny the neighbor ethic” by vilifying immigrants. He points to the creation story, and specifically the powerful declaration of our being made “in the image of God,” to champion voting rights. And he encourages followers of Jesus to work toward “right relationships” with people they differ from, for “blessed are the peacemakers.” 

“I do still call myself an evangelical,” Wallis told a journalist last year, “I won’t concede the term to the right-wing white Christian nationalists.”

To learn more about what motivated him to write what he called his “most timely book,” listen to the excerpt of his conversation with Diana Butler Bass.

The book will come out on April 2, right after Easter, and you are invited to join one of two seven-week Easter book groups at Vine Street.

Tuesday evenings at 5pm, April 9 - May 21

Wednesday mornings at 9am, April 10 - May 22

Please purchase or borrow your own copy and register (to make sure we have your email for follow-up information about location etc.).

Where Are We?

“Where are we?” It’s a simple question, one might assume. The answer could be the name of a city or neighborhood, or a set of coordinates copied from an app: N 36° 7' 46.75'', W 86° 50' 19.256''. The question becomes much more complicated when you add, “And how did we get here? And who are ‘we’?”

Robert Jones has done a lot of good work with those questions. In his most recent book, once again dealing with the legacy of white supremacy in the United States, he returns to the fateful year when a little-known church doctrine emerged that shaped the way five centuries of European Christians would understand the “discovered” world and the people who populated it. 

Jones shows how the enslavement of Africans was not America’s original sin but, rather, the continuation of acts of genocide and dispossession flowing from the first European contact with Native Americans. These deeds were justified by people who embraced the 15th century Doctrine of Discovery: the belief that God had designated all territory not inhabited or controlled by Christians as their new promised land. This reframing of American origins explains how the founders of the United States could build the philosophical framework for a democratic society on a foundation of mass racial violence—and why this paradox survives today in the form of white Christian nationalism. 

Jones takes a close look at particular places and how “we” have arrived, encountered each other, and emerged from there. He shows his readers the connections between Emmett Till and the Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto in the Mississippi Delta, in what is known as Tallahatchie County; between the lynching of three Black circus workers in Duluth and the mass execution of thirty-eight Dakota men in Mankato, and between the murder of 300 African Americans during the burning of Black Wall Street in Tulsa and the Trail of Tears. In all three places, the removal of Indigenous populations in the 19th century was followed by murders of Black citizens in the 20th. In each place, through stories of people navigating these complexities of “we” and “here,” Jones illuminates the possibility of a new American future in which the promise of a pluralistic democracy is finally fulfilled, by us.

This spring, I would like to read this book with a group of Nashville neighbors and colleagues, and I imagine a 5-week or 5-session format, following the major sections of the book. Please let me know if you’d like to join the group, and please forward this post to anyone you think might be interested in participating.

TRUNK or TREAT - TEN THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

1. Let us know you're planning to add your vehicle to the event (look for the clipboard on Sunday or do it right here)

2. Remember to park in the lot across from the South Entrance if your car is NOT part of the event

3. Remember that the parking lot outside Fellowship Hall will be blocked for the duration of the event

4. Invite anyone you can think of, share the event in Facebook groups or neighborhood apps, etc.

5. Tell folks there will be face painting, games, music, and more

6. Get some treats for the kids (we'll have allergen-safe treats available as well)

7. Consider bringing some homemade treats, jugs of apple cider, etc for our food table (look for the clipboard on Sunday, or do it right here)

8. Bring any festive decorations you can lend for the event

9. Dress up

10. Talk to all people who come, especially the ones you don't know

Ten things, that’s a lot to remember. Here’s a handy acronym for fans of mnemonic devices:

Conversations on the Patio

In May, Lexington Theological Seminary hosted a series of three webinars, Thriving Together: The Church After the Pandemic. Thankfully, the presentations have been made available as videos (all are embedded below), and they make excellent - and I mean, excellent - conversation starters. 

Much has changed during the pandemic, and we’re all trying to sort out what shifts in congregational life were caused by that disruptive experience, and what changes simply became more visible because of it. I invite us to have Conversations on the Patio this summer, each based on one of the three presentations. This is what I envision:

We watch the respective video and meet for drinks or dessert on somebody’s deck or patio to talk: What questions did the presentation raise for me? What really drew me in? How did I change my thinking? I believe small groups of three to seven people would be just right, and they could happen just about anywhere and anytime: “Patio” is simply meant to suggest a relaxed and enjoyable setting.

Who will host and when? Any of us can: you could simply invite some of your church friends and do it. I’m hosting on our deck on three consecutive Thursdays at 7pm: June 15, June 22, and June 29. Please sign up here. I believe, three to seven persons is the perfect size; if more sign up, we’ll make other plans (pivoting became the new normal during the pandemic, after all). 

If you’d like me to be part of Conversations on the Patio which you are hosting, just let me know when, and I’ll be there if my schedule allows. 

Introduction and A.W. Shields

Dan Moseley

Katie Hayes

New, Revised, and Updated

The New Revised Version (NRSV) has served churches, liturgists, and scholarly and devotional readers for more than thirty years. It is one of the most popular English translations of the Bible, after the King James Version and the New International Version. In contrast to the KJV and the NIV, it is also the most ecumenical Bible with acceptance by Christian churches of Protestant, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, African American, and Evangelical traditions. And while this ecumenical commitment has not only continued, but broadened, much has changed since the NRSV was first published in 1989: new manuscripts were discovered or made available, scholarship has shed new light on ancient words and practices, and English language conventions have shifted.

The National Council of Churches asked the Society for Biblical Literature to prepare a new edition to give English Bible readers access to the most meticulously researched, rigorously reviewed, and faithfully accurate translation on the market.

I was curious about what impact the revisions had on the text; many of the 20,000 or so changes apply to headings, notes, and versification (where to break the text between one verse and the next), and they barely alter how I read the text or how we hear it in worship. There are cases, tough, where new manuscript evidence leads to significant correction in the text. In 1 Kings 8:16, for example, the NRSV reads,

Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

The NRSVue reads,

Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, nor did I choose anyone to be a ruler over my people Israel. But I have chosen Jerusalem in order that my name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’

Such textual changes are significant, but they are also rare. More frequent are slight changes in translating words and concepts. The Hebrew word tsara‘at, for example, has traditionally been translated “leprosy.” However, the condition being referenced was not Hansen’s disease, so more than fifty verses have been updated to bring out the term’s central meaning, that this was a defiling skin disease. So, where Leviticus 13:9 (NRSV) has, When a person contracts a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest, the NRSVue now reads, When a person contracts a defiling skin disease, he shall be brought to the priest. Similarly, terms referencing physical disabilities can be very challenging when a translation attempts to honor both ancient realities and modern sensibilities. The NRSVue makes an effort not to identify people in terms of disability, but to adopt person-first diction, as, e.g., in Matthew 4:24.

NRSV: So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them.

NRSVue: So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, people possessed by demons or having epilepsy or afflicted with paralysis, and he cured them.

Likewise, to make a distinction between a person’s identity and a condition imposed on that person, Galatians 4:22 (NRSVue) uses the expression “an enslaved woman,” as opposed to “a slave woman” (NRSV).

Continuing the effort to avoid what famed translator Bruce Metzger called “linguistic sexism” (see the “To the Reader” preface in the NRSV), the NRSVue refers to the woman in Mark 14:69 as a “female servant” instead of the belittling expression “servant-girl.”

Finally, listening to the reading of Scripture in worship, no one will notice that the Sabbath and Passover are now rendered in capital letters, instead of lowercase letters. No disrespect was intended by the editors of the NRSV, but there’s no good reason for the practice when it’s not common usage to write sunday or easter.

So, should you go and purchase a new Bible? That’s up to you. You have your own reading preferences and favorite translation(s). I still love my old RSV, simply because it’s one of the few editions without headings. I typically read the NRSV, and I consult the NIV, CEB and the Revised English Bible. When studying Old Testament texts, I always read the Tanakh translation by the Jewish Publication Society. I have found comparing good translations enlightening, and checking out the Cotton Patch version or The Message can be fun as well as convicting. Do you need the NRSVue on your shelf if you already have the NRSV? Perhaps not. You can read it online, and the best Bible translation is the one you read. I do think, though, that we should start using the NRSVue in worship. It may not be time to retire the pew Bibles yet, but I suggest we purchase a new Bible for the lectern as soon as it becomes available. Hearing those subtle but important changes will help form the listening congregation in subtle and important ways. And for the same reason, we should switch to the NRSVue when we give Bibles to young disciples.

The NRSVue is no “new translation” to fall in love with or to dismiss as too much this or the other. It really is just an update of the fine NRSV. Prof. Abraham Smith, a member of the team of scholars and reviewers who have invested their time and energy in this update, said in an interview,

Standing in the shadows of the Tyndale, Coverdale, Matthew, Great, Geneva, and Rheims Bibles, the editors of the King James Bible stated in their preface in 1611, “we never thought from the beginning, that we should need to make a new Translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one … but to make a good one better.” No less is it true for the editors of the NRSVue. The desire was always to take the NRSV and to make something better. Thus, woven into the warp and woof of the NRSVue’s approximately 20,000 substantive edits is something better—better in the diversity of its translators, better in the accuracy of its renderings, better in the consistency of its formatting, and better in the means by which it was vetted.

And then he added, stating beautifully the hope behind our quest for the best possible translation of our sacred texts,

Along the way, perhaps this long and often arduous undertaking has not just produced a better product. Maybe it has produced better people—better in their patience, better in their quest for truth, and better in their empathy with one another.

PS: I apologize for the odd links in the text. Using footnotes is a bit of a headache with this web host.

Signs and Wonders

In Signs and Wonders: A Beginner’s Guide to the Miracles of Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine explores selected miracles of Jesus in historical and theological context. For each miracle, she discusses not only how past witnesses would have understood the events, but also how today’s readers can draw meaning from Jesus’s words and actions.

Chapter topics include:

• Giving sight to the blind: Metaphors of understanding (Mark 8, John 9)

• “Take up your pallet and walk” (the paralyzed man): On the role of caregivers

• A bleeding woman and a dead girl: The importance of women’s bodies

• Walking on water and stilling the storm: Ecological readings of the Gospels

• The feeding of the 5,000 (or more): The centrality of bread

• The raising of Lazarus: Taking death seriously

In each session, we will view a short video clip with Dr. Levine and discuss one of the six chapters. Participants purchase their own copy of the book (both paperbacks and e-books are available).

Wednesday mornings at 9-10am, South Meeting Room, starting November 2, 2022

Tuesday evenings at 7:30-8:30pm, Thomas’s Study, starting November 1, 2022

Questions? Email Thomas

Making space for the believer and skeptic alike, Levine masterfully connects the miracles of the God of Israel with the miracles of Jesus. From friends who clear the way, to a father who pleads for his daughter, to sisters who stand resolute, Levine invites the reader to cherish the helpers and the healed as much as we cherish the healer. Levine's willingness to authentically share portions of her own story reminds the reader of the ways the miraculous breaks into our own lives.

–Rev. Dawn Taylor-Storm

Sabbatical readings

In addition to giving myself to the deep exploration of the rhythms of walking, praying, and paddling this summer, I’m also drawn to the rhythm of turning pages. I am very curious about where I am - the dirt, the landscape, the history, the relationships of a place - and who I am called to be there. This is my reading list for the summer, in case you want to read along:

Nick Ripatrazone, Wild Belief: Poets and Prophets in the Wilderness Wilderness is both a fearful and a sacred space, featuring prominently in the story of God’s people. It is also quickly disappearing. This book follows poets and prophets, saints and storytellers from across the ages in exploring what that might mean.

Imani Perry, South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation I just finished and loved Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns, and the fact that she calls this “elegant meditation on the complexities of the American South—and thus of America … an inspiration” is all the nudging I needed.

Dan Chapman, A Road Running Southward: Following John Muir's Journey through an Endangered Land I loved Tony Horwitz’s Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide, where he follows a young Frederick Law Olmstead on his journey through the South. Chapman follows John Muir to explore the natural history of the Southeast, point out some of its many environmental problems, and introduce the people with deep ties to the land.

Andrew Root, Churches and the Crisis of Decline: A Hopeful, Practical Ecclesiology for a Secular Age This is the most recent addition to a series Root has been publishing since 2017 (Faith Formation in a Secular Age, The Pastor in a Secular Age, The Congregation in a Secular Age). Root teaches classes on youth ministry, young adults, family, church, and culture (all with a deep theological bent) at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN.

Matthew Continetti, The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism Our Wednesday morning book group just finished Bill Haslam’s Faithful Presence: The Promise and the Peril of Faith in the Public Square, and I want to better understand how political leaders like him and others often referred to as “establishment Republicans” are being pushed out by a reckless clown show.

Sabbatical reflection

The story has been told and retold in various versions since at least the 19th century. European missionaries serving in Africa (or explorers, adventure travelers, American tourists, depending on which version you prefer) hired local villagers as porters to help carry supplies to a distant station. The porters walked at a slower pace than the missionaries desired, so after the first two days, they pushed them to go faster. On day three of the trek, the group went twice as far as day two. Around the campfire that evening, the missionaries congratulated themselves for their efficiency and power to motivate the locals.

The next morning, the porters would not budge.

“What’s wrong?” asked the missionaries.

“We cannot go any further today,” replied the villagers’ spokesman.

“Why not?”

“We travelled so quickly yesterday; we must wait here for our souls to catch up with us.”

Walking has long been used as a metaphor for living, and even though most of us drive and fly places, we still talk about life’s pace and about taking it one step at a time. In Scripture, walking with God or walking before God describe our efforts to live faithfully. The prophet Isaiah tells the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “When you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”[1]

I look forward to walking a long stretch of the GTA, a trail in the Italian Alps, in June, at just the right pace to give my soul a chance to catch up. Rebecca Solnit writes, “I like walking because it is slow, and I suspect that the mind, like the feet, works at about three miles an hour. If this is so, then modern life is moving faster than the speed of thought, or thoughtfulness.”[2] In the Alps, I’ll be looking for trail markers to keep me moving in the right direction, but I trust that the rhythm of walking will also help me think about the way ahead for ministry, and to listen for the word behind me, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

[1] Isaiah 30:21; and yes, the prophet sounds a little bit like the Mandalorian, although I would suggest it’s the other way round.

[2] Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A history of walking (New York: Penguin, 2001), 10.

Sabbatical plans

A sabbatical is a precious gift. It’s also a great privilege that very few people, no matter how hard or how long they work, ever get to enjoy. I am very grateful for this gift of time, your gift to me, so I can immerse myself in a life of rest and renewal. In the book of Exodus, God commands God’s people, “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow.” I’m drawn to the sabbath rhythm applied to the land in light of our Lenten focus on creation care and our relationship to the soil, but I also like the idea of me lying fallow for a season, of not living in production mode, and letting grow whatever comes up. In Exodus, that seventh-year harvest is for the benefit of the poor and the wild animals (Ex 23:10-12) — and while I trust that what emerges during my fallow season won’t just be “for the birds,” I do hope that disovering my post-COVID rhythm for ministry will help us proclaim, in the name of Jesus, good news to the poor.

In June, I will be in Italy and Switzerland, spending time with the European side of my family, and hiking a section of the Grande Traversata delle Alpi, a long-distance trail in the Italian Alps. I look forward to the daily rhythms of walking and resting, climbing up to the pass and back down to the next valley. The family time I trust will be filled with laughter, games and stories, food and wine.

I am planning to spend the entire month of July at Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina, as a guest of the Abbey and a participant in their Monastic Instititute. I will live the daily rhythms of community prayer, work, and study. The study program includes courses on Christianity in an Interspiritual Age, The Rule of St. Benedict for Today (taught by a German nun!), and The Essentials of Cistercian Life. 

In August, I will travel from South to North Carolina, paddling some of the rivers and lakes along the way, before meeting Nancy at a cabin near the Nantahala River. She’ll bring her computer to “go to work” while I attend white water school. So, yes, much of August will be about forward and backward strokes, reading the river, respecting its rhythms, and learning to go with the flow.

In September, Nancy and I will spend a week on the beach on Kiawah Island, SC, and we hope that Eva, Sarahbeth, Corey, Liam and Miles will be able to join us. Plenty of time to be together, eat, play, talk, and listen to the waves rolling up on the beach.

True Believer

Guest post by Jack Wallace

If you’ve driven in the area of Harding Road and White Bridge Road in Nashville with some regularity over the past few months, you’ve probably seen him standing in the traffic island, where other sign carriers are often found. Their signs are typically small and ask for money or speak in support of a cause or a political party.  His signs are large, handmade, religious, and with a message that would strike most readers as hateful. They strike me as relics of a bygone era, maybe fifty or sixty years ago, when street corner preachers shouting at passers-by about the approaching apocalypse and day of judgement were more common.

The white-haired man holding the sign seemed anachronistic. As I waited at the traffic light, I studied him. Perhaps I read too much into his facial expression, but he didn’t seem angry or agitated, not even particularly prayerful. Less a zealot and more a simple message-bearer. What motivated him to stand on this corner and deliver this message of condemnation?  What was his journey that brought him here? Why this form of ministry?

His sign listed a phone number and invited the passerby to call. So, I did. I recorded our  conversation and I’ve edited it a bit for brevity, but these are his words. He gave me permission to share them.

Me: Is this the sign-carrier from the corner in Nashville?

Him: Yes.

Me: Do you mind telling me your name and your age?

Him: My name is Ron, and I’m 72.

Me: Are you with a religious organization?

Ron: I’m not with a religious organization but I do assemble on Sunday with other Christians. I live about 80 miles west of Nashville, near Lobelville, and I go to a meeting with other believers that are mostly – their background is Amish and Mennonite. I’m not a member, but they allow me to worship with them.

Me: When did you start your street ministry and carrying your signs?

Ron: I started in 1978 with signs in Hawaii. I’ve been using signs - off and on – for over 40 years.

Me: What brought you to Nashville?

Ron:  My daughter lives near Nashville, so I try to come here and stay with her for at least two days every week or so. I want to use my time wisely. I believe we are living in a very serious time. I have to be responsible for whatever God has shown me – taught me – in understanding His truth. It’s something I have to do. I lived in South America for twenty-one years, and I came back about four years ago. Since then, I’ve carried signs in various places. I’ve been going to that place where you saw me for about four months. I try to come several times a month, if the wind isn’t too strong.

Me: Do you consider yourself a Prophet?

Ron: No, no. I’ve had different people say I’m a Prophet, but I don’t go around telling people I’m a Prophet.

Me: You said you started your street ministry with signs in 1978. What inspired you to start at that time?

Ron: I came into the faith in 1975. I was influenced by a group called the Children of God. It was a cult that started in Huntington Beach, California in 1968.

Me: Yes, I know it. David Berg, or Moses David, was the leader back in the late 60’s and 70’s.

Ron: Their emphasis was on preaching and evangelism and making disciples. I left the Children of God in 1977. I was living in Samoa with them, and my wife and I had our first child there. We left and went back to Hawaii.  She’s Japanese but from Hawaii. I could not jump back into the world of making money, so I started preaching on the streets of Hawaii. I labored on the streets in Hawaii for about three years.

Me: Have you been financially supported by fellow Christians throughout your preaching career, or have you worked?

Ron: I am not supported by others. Very little.  I’m not a hireling. That’s my conviction. Most preachers today are hirelings. I want to stay clean about the money. Most religions today are a business, and that’s their downfall. The money. I’m kind of judgemental on that. Not trying to be critical, but that’s what I believe. Presently I just get my Social Security check, and that’s what I live on.

Me: When you left Hawaii, where did you go?

Ron: We moved to Minnesota and lived in a community there called Ben Israel, led by a man named Arthur Katz. They emphasized what they called the Five-fold ministry: Apostle, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers. They weren’t denominational. They were normal, not cultish. They taught some good things. That’s where I first met some Mennonite folks, and I’ve been mostly involved with people of that sort of background all around the world ever since. They teach living holy, they’re god-fearing people. The big megachurches of today I don’t agree with at all. They’re not set up in a biblical way. It’s more personality. They teach a prosperity gospel.

Me: After you left Minnesota, where did you go?

Ron: I did missionary work along the Mexican/Texas border, near Reynosa. After that I moved back to Tennessee with my family. I have nine children.  Then I moved to Bolivia where I lived for twenty-one years.

Me: Why did you decide to move to Bolivia?

Ron: When I was living here, my mother, who had been bothering me for years, would say things like “Ron, you have a big family, you can’t save the world.” She said if I would settle down, she would give me my inheritance, and so finally I succumbed to that. I bought a piece of land with an old farmhouse. I lived here for about three years. We’re homeschoolers and not vaccinators. Are you familiar with those types of people?

Me: Yes, yes.

Ron: They’re real targets for Social Services, because you’re not going along with the same line. I had some neighbors who were persecuting me. I was in contact with a family that had moved to Bolivia to do missionary work, so that’s why we went. Why be under the pressure of Social Services if you don’t have to?

Me: So, I guess most of your children grew up in Bolivia.

Ron: Yeah, most of them. And one was born there.

Me: Where are your children now?

Ron: Five are in Hawaii, two are here in Tennessee, one is in Florida, and one is in Holland.

Me: Do they all have families now?

Ron: No. Only two of my children are married and have families.

Me: Are you still married, or are you by yourself now?

Ron: I’m married. To the same woman for forty-four years. But my wife is presently in Bolivia.

Me: You’ve led an interesting life (laugh).

Ron: Yeah, I’ve been a lot of things. I used to be a surfer. I raised horses and played polo. I was a sixties hippy guy, grew marijuana, sold LSD. I’ve lived in Malaysia, in north Australia, worked on a big cattle station there.  I’ve been around and done a lot of things.

Me: Do you plan to join your wife in Bolivia?

Ron: She wants to stay there. She’s living in fear of these times. I don’t want to go back there, but she moved there several months ago with one of our daughters. She’s with a lot of friends, but I think I should stay here and try to share the gospel. I don’t know anything else to do but try to warn people and encourage people. 

Me: Your signs talk about the Pope and the Vatican and have some pretty harsh words for Catholicism.

Ron: I believe that true believers should warn the Catholics and try to get them to come out of what I say is a strong delusion. I hold to the historical view that many people used to hold, that the Roman Catholic church is the mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of all harlots from the book of Revelation. I also hold to the historical view that the office of the Pope is the anti-Christ. I talk to many Catholics, and I have nothing against Catholic people, but I’m supposed to speak the truth and warn people who have fallen under false teaching.

Me: Have you suffered persecution throughout your street ministry?

Ron: I’ve been beaten, punched, had beer poured on me, eggs thrown at me, (he laughs) but nothing that was too much. I’ve been cursed, threatened.

Me: You’ve been back in Nashville doing your street ministry for a while. What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you here?

Ron: Nothing. Just screaming, yelling.

Me: Do you feel like you’ve converted some folks since you’ve been ministering here in Nashville?

Ron: Uh, no.

Me: It’s got to be a lonely ministry.

Ron: It’s lonely, but I let the scriptures comfort me.

Me: Does your family support you in your ministry, or do some of them disagree with you?

Ron: I only have two of my children that are converted. I have a bunch of them that have backslid. So, yeah, I would love to have more of them support me. I have a good relationship with some of them that are not converted, and some of them I don’t.

Me: Your wife in Bolivia, has she been supportive?

Ron: Oh yeah. She’s more fanatical than me (laughs). I met her through the Children of God. She gave up college to follow Christ when she joined the Children of God.

Me: When you look back on your life, do you feel good about all you’ve done?

Ron: That’s a big question. With my failures with my children, I don’t know, maybe I didn’t spend enough time with them. Maybe I was too spiritually minded, but all of us should have a zeal for God.

Me: You certainly have zeal. You’re out there on the corner, even at 72.

Ron: In the winter I go down to Florida and stay with my daughter in Deerfield Beach. There’s a boardwalk there, and I do my sign ministry by walking the boardwalk slowly on any day that there’s not a lot of wind. It’s a harder environment there. Sometimes it gets a little violent. Very aggressive people there. But I’m okay with that. I don’t live in fear. I’m not into getting hurt, but, you know, I’ve experienced some of that, and I’ve also experienced God’s blessing. I wish there were more brothers and sisters out there testifying, it would be better, but I can’t change that.

Me: Well, I wish you well in your ministry.

Ron: You’ve been a blessing to talk to. Your spirit is great, and encouragement is always good.

In spite of the hateful message of his signs, I like this street preacher. It’s easy for me, and probably most who pass him by, to ridicule him, to be disdainful of his message, to make a caricature of this man. His life and his beliefs are far different from mine, but he didn’t seem filled with hate, or so dogmatic that I would find him repellant after only a brief conversation.  He seemed capable of self-reflection and honesty. He’s narrow-minded, but not obtuse. He did not seem paranoid or delusional, only driven and misguided. I could have met him a few decades ago.

When I was a student at the University of Tennessee in the mid-seventies, there were several odd groups that hung around the edges of the campus, including the Children of God. On several occasions I stopped to listen as they preached and panhandled, intrigued by their hippy brand of evangelism. They used the same scriptures that I knew from my fundamentalist upbringing. I wasn’t attracted to them, only curious.

I later learned that they, like most cults, preyed on the young, the vulnerable, those susceptible to a charismatic leader with a message of “trust me, I alone know the truth.” The appeal of being a part of a group that has a mission and accepts those on the fringe seemed to be a certain aphrodisiac to a lost soul or a wanderer down on their luck. The Children of God melded worship of Christ with a ‘60’s-era free love, along with a doomsday message of the coming apocalypse. They believed in group living and zealous proselytizing, and grew to include hundreds of communes, or families.

Members of these communities were usually isolated, as they didn’t work—people who held real-world jobs were called “systemites”—or send their children to school. David Berg, or Moses David as he became known, communicated his wacky theology through “Mo Letters” to the Families. They eventually degenerated into sexual abuse of the female members and the children. Their story has been told by many over the years, including Joaquin Phoenix and Rose McGowan, both who spent part of their early formative years in this cult.

The late sixties and early seventies were tumultuous times of social unrest, fertile ground for charismatic leaders to find followers and form cults. Distrust of government, of big business, and of the establishment was their message, and the gullible swallowed it. Even as their leaders took these groups way off the rails, many of their followers clung to the belief that they were a part of an inside group who really knew the truth. They followed Jim Jones to their poisonous death in the jungle of Guyana. They fought the government alongside David Koresh at Waco until they were consumed by their own flames.

I find troublesome parallels today with cult-like groups such as Q-Anon. We are living in a time of social unrest, of distrust of government and established norms.  Charismatic leaders spout that they know the real truth, and they alone can fix what is wrong. They promulgate their gospel from virtual street corners found on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Their followers often seem to discard any fact or reality that does not align with their narrow view of the world. They have found a new community in the alternative reality of conspiracy beliefs.

My hope is that most of these suggestible followers have not totally abandoned all reason. With time, they will recognize these self-serving charlatans for what they are. Slowly, reluctantly, these once true believers will find their way back to a world view based on accepted norms and facts, to a society where the vulnerable are protected, not exploited. And when they do, we must restore them and welcome them back, for that is what a genuine community does. 

And for those who stubbornly cling to an alternate view of the world, we must listen to them. Underneath their sign-waving and doomsday prophecy, their hateful message, often lies a soul that longs for real community. Look for that soul. You might find a brother or a sister. 

On Sunday I took a picture of the balcony wall with the steel framing complete, and on Tuesday I returned to this view! The sheetrock is up, and now the mudding and sanding can commence. On Wednesday, the floor/ceiling between the pantry and what used to be "the bathroom on the landing" will be cut out: the shaft for our new elevator is beginning to take shape!
Most of us have not set foot in the sanctuary, or anywhere else in the building, in weeks. We have not gathered for worship in person since the middle of Lent, and our souls long for the Easter celebration on the other side of this pandemic. Very little has changed since those early days of life with COVID-19 - we practice social distancing while keeping in touch; we wash our hands again and again while humming various tunes; and when we go out, we wear masks to protect each other from infection. Since Monday, wearing a face covering in public in Nashville is no longer merely strongly recommended, but required. “Face coverings help slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives,” said Mayor John Cooper. “The health of our community requires every Nashvillian to do their part.” I am grateful for our public health officials, for their well-informed and wise guidance throughout this crisis, and for elected leaders who support their recommendations.
At Vine Street, we will continue to worship online only until it is safe for all of us to gather in person. We are all painfully aware that this is far from what we are called to be and do, far from what we want and long for. For the time being, it is simply the most loving thing to do.
Our sanctuary is undergoing profound transformation in our absence, along with just about every corner of our building. Our nation, indeed the whole world, is undergoing profound transformation in this strangest of years, and many of us witness these changes from afar, confined to our homes, following events on the news, and discussing them on the phone, on video calls, or on social media. In the case of our building, our absence is actually a bonus: the work can proceed without disrupting any congregational activities. In the case of the world and our nation, we are reminded that the Spirit of the living God will overcome any obstacle to free us from captivity and bondage: we open ourselves to the Spirit's challenge and comfort, and we are no longer merely observers of transformation, but the ones most profoundly transformed by the work of God.
I thought this would be just a brief note, but allow me to conclude with words of gratitude, since my heart is full. Thank you to those of you who have said yes when we asked you to serve as Elders, Deacons, or members of the Administrative Council. Thank you to those of you completed your terms of office on June 30 - your dedication, wisdom, and significant gifts of time and energy are beautiful expressions of Christian stewardship. And thank you to all of you who have so very faithfully continued to support our common ministry with your financial contributions. We know that for many this has not been easy, given the current economic uncertainty. We are stronger together, and thanks be to God for showing us the full meaning of "we" and "together."

Keeping in touch despite spatial distancing

I have started using the term “spatial distancing” instead of “social distancing” to remind myself that physical distance doesn’t automatically imply social distance. 

Kevin Roose wrote, 

"We are on the brink of what Vox’s Ezra Klein calls a “social recession” — an epidemic of loneliness and isolation brought on by the virus. The social recession will hit certain groups especially hard — older people, people with disabilities, people who live alone. But we will all feel isolated to some degree. And as long as it remains unwise to gather in physical spaces, we will need to create virtual spaces that can sustain us."

Virtual spaces like a Bible study group meeting via video conferencing. Or sharing thoughts, pictures, and funny quotes on Facebook, or video clips on Instagram. But there are also virtual spaces that don’t require an internet connection. Like a phone call or a handwritten note. I want to challenge us to use every technology available to us, including the pen, to keep in touch. I suspect that many of us will be having more time than we know what to do with. And Netflix binges and YouTube rabbit holes will get old pretty soon. 

Why not embrace a couple of spiritual practices for this long Lenten season?

• Every day, write a note to another Vine Street member and tell them something that gives you joy, or the best news you heard that day, or what you love about your favorite song. One card a day.

• Every day, call somebody who is part of the Vine Street community, and just ask them how things are going - who knows, you may end up making plans for a walk on the Greenway or at one of our beautiful parks (six feet apart, yet still enjoying a shared experience). One call a day.

And one more suggestion. This may feel a little weird at first. Have you considered hosting a virtual dinner party? Or a virtual lunch? You call folks you’d love to have dinner with, you set a date and time, and on the big night, you sit at your table with your meal and they sit at theirs, and you talk via FaceTime or by speaker phone. It’s not the same as sitting at the table with friends, but it’s fun, especially when you start playing trivia or charades.

I look forward to being in worship with you on Sunday morning at 10. I will miss seeing you, hugging your neck, and holding your hand, but I trust that the Spirit of Christ will continue to weave us together in the body of Christ.

Robbing workers

You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. Leviticus 19:13 NRSV

You shall not defraud your fellow. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning. Leviticus 19:13 JPS

Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Leviticus 19:13 NIV

It’s not a matter of translation. Not paying a day laborer at the end of her work day is unjust; it robs her and her family of their livelihood. It robs her of her dignity as a worker.

I do not know federal employment law. It may be legal to force government workers to work without pay or without knowing if or when they would receive accumulated backpay. It may be legal, but it is utterly unjust.

Holding workers and their families hostage in a political fight may also be legal.

I struggle to find words for the moral rage I carry in my innards over the apparent ease with which the President has repeatedly refused to end this government shutdown.

I am waiting for the leaders of what’s left of the labor unions in this country to call us to the streets.

I am grateful I get to walk in the company of Isaiah, with faith in the God of justice.

Justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us;
we wait for light, and lo! there is darkness;
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
We grope like the blind along a wall…
Isaiah 59:9-10 NRSV

Arise.

Shine!

Advent and Christmas schedule

James had his reasons

James had his reasons to warn Christians against becoming teachers in the church. He wasn't opposed to teaching in general—he was a teacher himself, after all—but he wanted to make sure followers of Jesus get into teaching for the right reasons: to introduce young and old believers to the meaning of Jesus, to help them open the treasures of Scripture, and to show them ways to live a Christian life. I wonder if in his day the brothers and sisters couldn’t wait to walk into a classroom of 10-year-olds and learn with them…

Here at Vine Street, we are grateful for a dedicated group of men and women who teach our children, and another group who focus on creating Christian education experiences for adults. Now this may surprise some of you, but I’m going to contradict James, the eminent teacher, and not because I’m just an incorrigible contrarian who loves a good argument:  Many of you, my brothers and sisters, should indeed become teachers. Why? Nothing helps you be a better student, and as disciples of Jesus we’re all lifelong learners. Teaching the faith, we become discoverers and explorers of its many dimensions, and as we help others grow, we grow ourselves. So please consider getting involved in Sunday school as an assistant teacher (learn from the greats) or a substitute (even the greats take trips out of town over the weekend on occasion). You get to know our youngsters, marvel at their questions, be a role model, and be part of raising another generation of disciples. I’d love to talk some more with you about this, if you’re wondering if teaching could be for you. And to hear more about the curriculum we use and the other teachers, please talk to Angie Wilson, who coordinates our children’s education efforts.

Our Sunday school kick-off cookout will be on Sunday, August 26 at 5pm, and classes will start the following Sunday, September 2.

An hour of your summer

Will you spend an hour of your summer with me? We can go for a walk together. We can meet for a cup of coffee or a beer. We can go paddling (yes we can, I have a second kayak for you). We can meet for lunch. You can invite me to your place of work.

Our hour together could be early in the morning, anytime during the day, or later, after you’ve finished dinner with the family.

I would love to spend an hour this summer with everyone who calls Vine Street home. I don’t have an agenda; I just want to know how you are doing. You can take our conversation anywhere you would like it to go. We are moving through a lot of change at Vine Street, not to mention the nation and the world. How’s your soul? How’s your faith?

Please call or text me at 615-714-9718 or send an email to thomas@vinestreet.org so we can make plans together. You can also schedule our appointment via this calendar. Thank you!

Men's Morning Bible Study

We meet on Wednesday mornings at 7:30am in a Burton Hills office building. We just finished studying the gospel of Mark, and we're about to start a study of Paul's letters to the Philippians and the Galatians. We always welcome new friends to join us, but this is a particularly good moment to get started with the group!

Interested? Email Thomas thomas@vinestreet.org for details.

New study starts now.

Come and join us.

Wednesdays, 7:30 a.m.

Christmas Eve at night...

We gather in the sanctuary close to midnight to hear again the ancient words of promise and hope, and to celebrate the birth of Christ. We will sing, hear beautiful music, share communion and light our candles. Would you like to be one of the readers? We love to hear a variety of voices and accents! If you have any questions before you want to decide, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Our worship service at 11p.m. on December 24 includes ten readings from Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Luke, John, and Hebrews. We love to have a variety of voices and accents! If you'd like to be considered as one of the readers, please add your name and email address below. Thank you!

Shelbyville and Murfreesboro

Several white supremacist groups will meet in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro this weekend, and the two communities have been very much on my mind in recent days.

A strong argument can be made for simply ignoring those racist gatherings and depriving them of the oxygen of public attention, thus turning them into non-events.

An equally strong argument can be made for people to show up and declare loud and clear that racism is not acceptable.

Personally, I don't see how yelling across the street at a group of Nazis does much more than draw attention to them, but I believe it is important to show up in support of a different vision for our life together, one that is not merely an angry reaction to a hateful ideology, but an affirmation of God's beloved community.

Here are some ways to participate in that kind of affirmation:

On Friday, October 27, the Bedford County MInisterial Accociation is hosting a prayer service at First United Methodist Church, 122 Public Square N, Shelbyville, TN 37160.

On Saturday, October 28, Shelbyville Loves is hosting an alternative event at Purdy Court Park, Shelbyville, TN 37160, beginning at 8:30am (until about 3pm); this family friendly cook-out is a celebration of community, about a mile from the designated protest sites. For more details see https://www.facebook.com/events/300483720434126/

For other details, including traffic and parking information, see local press http://www.t-g.com/story/2455017.html

In Murfreesboro, people will gather beginning at 11am for a safety training at Barfield Crescent Park, 697 Veterans Pkwy, Murfreesboro, TN 37128, pavillion 6 and 7. Then those who wish will go on a peace march, while a second group stays at the park, again to celebrate and affirm community. From 4-6pm, there will be speakers, music, pizza, etc.; there are also plans for some volunteers to help with clean up in town.

For more details see https://www.facebook.com/events/134541383959860/

I will be in Shelbyville on Friday and Saturday to affirm the vision of the beloved community, and I plan to go to Murfreesboro as well.