Remembering St. Luke

Today (Oct. 18) is the commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Luke the Evangelist. It is supposed the 84-year-old Evangelist was crucified on an olive tree in the ancient city of Boeotia, which was located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Corinth in modern day Greece. The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, both written near the place of his death, are attributed to this Gentile whom the Apostle Paul calls the “beloved Physician.” Luke has the unique distinction of being a co-prisoner with Paul as mentioned in Second Timothy.

Luke is revered as a great Evangelist who makes clear in his Gospel that salvation is for all, regardless of gender, social position or nationality. Throughout the centuries, he is honored by the Church Fathers as one who embodies the evangelistic nature desired by every Christian. Gregory the Great, in a sermon delivered in the 6th century about Luke’s model of evangelism, concludes his remarks with these words:

“But now listen to what our Lord has to say after sending out those who are to preach: ‘The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’ There are only a few laborers for so huge a harvest, something we cannot mention without sadness, because, although there are many who crave to hear the good news, there are few to preach it…But as for you, my dear brothers and sisters, ponder well the Lord’s command. Pray indeed the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. And pray for us that we may be able to serve you as you deserve, that our tongue may never grow tired of exhorting you, lest having undertaken this office of preaching, our silence condemn us in the sight of our just judge.”
For many churches, October is a month to celebrate ministry. We celebrate the ministry of our clergy. We celebrate the ministry of our laity and in so doing, ask the question, is God calling you to the vocation of Ordained Ministry? What better week to answer the call then this one, as your way of honoring the evangelistic ministry of St. Luke.

Wisdom In Moments of Evil

No doubt many of you have been struck by the news of the execution-style murders of five young Amish girls in Pennsylvania. I have received numerous emails, telephone calls and comments from many of you asking why God allows these kinds of things to happen. The question of why evil exists in the world has been a stumbling block for nonbelievers and a test of faith for believers for centuries. From the Apostle Paul to St. Augustine to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Church has struggled with how we should respond to evil and how we can explain the apparent non-action of the God that we claim is omnipotent and sovereign. In that thousands of volumes have been written on the subject, a few paragraphs here will certainly not settle the issue.

For me, as a Christian, I understand God to be one who walks with us in the midst of tragedy, who understands our loss, as he watched his own Son tortured and executed by a world who followed the gospel of hate and not the Gospel of Love. I also believe that Christ continues to live in the world in the form of the Church, the Body of Christ. The question for me is not why a mighty hand from heaven does not stop evil, but rather, to what extent will the Body of Christ on Earth—the Church of Jesus Christ—be willing to give itself as Christ gave himself…even to a cross.

I know in this case, the reasons are complicated, mysterious and elusive. It is easy to boil everything down and identify the person or persons to blame: God, the government, the evil doer’s parents, but really the blame rests with the power of sin and evil in our lives and in culture. Our culture promotes a selfish propensity to shake our heads in disgust and then suppress the incidents of evil and injustice. Meanwhile, we grow increasingly anesthetized to both an unwillingness to take responsibility and our culture’s avoidance of investing the time, energy and resources to foster our families, churches and communities to be places of virtue and wisdom, the true meaning of Jefferson’s call in our Declaration of Independence to the right of the pursuit of happiness. It begins not in Washington D.C. or in the halls of justice, but in the most sacred of halls, your homes, our community, with me and with you.

The Recovered Memory of Hatred

“I can’t stand the French!” I hear it frequently. It is an interesting statement. Our culture is currently filled with jokes, slander and disgust of all things French. A few weeks ago, at a lunch I was attending, one of the diners at the table asked for French dressing. Even the kind of condiment one wants for his salad is not free from commentary. Of course, what I associate with the French is their armada helping to turn the tide of the Revolutionary War. Then there are the World War II veterans, who remember and revere the French Resistance and chided the English who demanded a respite in the heat of battle for the time-honored tradition of afternoon tea. If anything, after movies like The Patriot, Braveheart, and Cast a Giant Shadow, one might want to exclaim, “Who can stand the English?”

It is interesting how sentiments of time long ago or comments made by a few can influence the ideas and relationships of entire nations and races. When I think of what the English did to the Scots, how colonial America suffered under British tyranny, the British supply of weapons to a fevered Middle East after World War II, the latent feelings of my ancestors creep into the light of my conscious mind. In a moment, the British who are our allies and friends in this current war, become the enemy in a war long ago, a war for freedom.

The Scriptures remind us that the sins of one generation carry down to the seventh generation. The wounds of racism continue today and will continue with every generation that fails to fight it. Ignoring this reality only extends the hatred to the next generation, to our children and grandchildren. Part of the vision for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) by the year 2020 is to be an “anti-racist, pro-reconciling” church. The sins of our great-grandparents still haunt us as we benefit from a system of discrimination and classism. As the acts of injustice by the English to my Scottish forebears still call forth my ancestral fury, how much more are the continued unjust attitudes of race and creed keeping a chasm between people of the same family, the family of God.

"We will have to repent in this generation, not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but of the appalling silence of the good people." -The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1964

A Cathedral model of Church

Our District Minister, the Rev. Dr. Lon Oliver, extended an invitation to me to sit on a panel discussion entitled, "Looking out Your Back Door: Seeing the Mission opportunities Close to Your Church and Home." The focus of the workshop is rather apparent in its title. Three congregations were represented, a small congregation, ours (representing a mid-size congregation) and a large congregation. I was invited to speak first. The model of ministry I used for our outreach was one of a "Cathedral Church."

As a Pastor in a denomination which emphasizes the autonomy of the local congregation, the very term "cathedral" may seem strange and out of place. So let me give you a little background. The word "cathedral" is derived from the Greek noun καθέδρα (cathedra) which translates as "seat" and refers to the presence of the bishop's chair. As the church grew, it was often clergy who were part of communities or "religious orders" who were called to serve as bishops. For many bishops, the church were they served became a monastery or a community of priests and brothers who lived under particular vows. In 8th century Germany, these churches were called "minsters." As German culture influenced the rest of Europe, the term "minster" became a common designation for the churches of bishops and so we see the advent of places like "Westminster" the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the figure-head of the
Anglican Communion.

Over the years in the United States, cathedrals not only continued to serve as the visible seat of ministry of churches with an episcopal (or bishops) system, but they serve as the center of a community's life. Present day cathedrals will often have shelters, food pantries or community kitchens to serve the needs of the poor and homeless. They will sponsor programs that enrich a community's appreciation for music, drama and visual arts. Educational programs both in classical disciplines of history, Bible, spirituality and pragmatic disciplines, such as health and fitness, home economics and finance will be a regular part of "cathedral" life. The cathedral understands its missional call to not only help the beaten and bruised along the side of the road, but the members of a cathedral will take the name of Jesus into the political backrooms and corporate boardrooms. These present day Holy of Holies will be shaped and encouraged by chief priests who have been reminded that their power and wealth brings with it, responsibility. The cathedral we call First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Ashland, stands in the midst of this community with a Christ imposed mandate to support the political, financial, business and educational infrastructures of Ashland. This cathedral will support and encourage our fellow Christians who hold positions of influence to call our culture to remember the commandment of Christ, that we love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves.

My philosophy of outreach ministry, rooted in the love of God as revealed through Jesus Christ, is that the best method to combat poverty, hunger, substandard housing and underemployment is to support the institutions which create a thriving economy and consequently, provide hope for our citizenry. Recalling the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), First Christian Church believes that we are called to invest the gifts God has given us for the advancement of our congregations, community, nation and world.

Finally, we can not, as the great Baptist minister, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King reminded us, be "concerned with the souls of men and not concerned with slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them." First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is concerned for the souls as well as the minds, bodies and lives of all God's people, our brothers and sisters, creation itself.

New "General" Regional Minister

The 2006 Regional Assembly of the Christian Church in Kentucky has concluded. Our Region has a new overseer as the Rev. Greg Alexander was installed as the fourth General Minister of the Region. For our new members, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a denomination spanning two nations, the US and Canada, with 33 Regions which for most are divided as a states and clusters of states. Kentucky is its own Region, although First Christian Church (Ashland) has very good relationships with the Disciples congregations in Huntington (West Virginia Region) and Portsmouth (Ohio Region). Regions serve as the identifiable web of support we give and receive with other congregations and the unified effort of our work and ministry together. It is the forum through which we serve together. Tangible things like certification of standing of ministers, guidelines for ordinations, licensing, and support in the pastoral/congregational relationship are the main ways we see our Region work, but it is in actuality, a small part of their whole ministry. Our Region is our extended family, a resource in times of opportunity and challenge. They supervise the training of our clergy; offer avenues of ministry for the laity and continuing education for all our members as we serve together. For Kentucky, our Regional Camps, Men’s Ministries and Women’s Ministries are hallmarks of our identity. Because of the vision, talents and quality of our Regional Staff, our congregations and active members throughout the Commonwealth, the Kentucky Region is a major force in our denomination as we fulfill the Great Commission together. We welcome the right man for this Region’s future…you might say, he is indeed, the Rt. Rev. Greg Alexander, new General Minister of the Christian Church in Kentucky.