A little sabbath break from rock and roll writing...

In taking a little break from my spirituality of rock and roll writing I find that my mind and heart is wrestling with what it means to be a Christian person of justice and compassion at this moment in time. Next week, for example, I will be writing and speaking on this subject to my church as the conclusion of my reflections on our mission statement. And as I watch the news from Syria and Israel, as I pray for the still unfolding but always imperfect move towards justice that is taking place in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, as I hold close to my heart my own divided American people in these complicated and polarized times a few thoughts about justice and compassion keep resurfacing.

+ First, I have found myself drawn to the realm of beauty - music, art and poetry - as a key part of my justice and compassion witness.  Like Dostoevsky wrote, "I believe that beauty can change the world." My witness, therefore, is usually rather quiet and small: I spend most of my time connecting with others in study - listening to poetry quietly - making music - encouraging others to find ways of sharing their creative impulses - and prayer. To be sure, I personally also participate in public policy advocacy through four  groups and I encourage others to join hands with these advocacy partners: 

+ Faithful America @ http://www.faithfulamerica.org/
+ ONE @ http://www.one.org/us/
+ Churches for Peace in the Middle East  @ http://www.cmep.org/
+ United Church of Christ @ www.ucc.org

But most of my time is not spent organizing on behalf of these groups - or making their witness the core of my ministry - or pushing my congregation into action. Rather, most of my time goes into listening and encouraging - and then creating beauty with others through my music, prayer and teaching ministries.  Why?  Most of the people I see are not only exhausted but resentful of being manipulated, bullied or organized into thinking or acting in the "right" way.  Especially when the "right" way is so often corrupted.  In this, both the early Tea Party movement and the Occupy Wall Street folk share some common ground. What's more, I see people who want to move into a more God-centered life, but are cautious when it comes to trusting that God's grace is bigger than our sin. 

So, it seems to me that my calling for justice and compassion at this moment in time has to do with living in such a way that encourages trust - that celebrates the gentle beauty that is always within and among us - and that builds safe space to experiment with faith, hope and love in a very dangerous time.

+ Second, I only trust those with a deep and lived commitment to the community to be advocates for justice. Conversely, those who are unwilling or unable to stand and deliver for the local church rarely inspire my trust.  For example, people who are certain they know what is best for others, but do not take the time to build up the faith community, are wind bags. Dilettantes. Users.  And over the years, how I understand a commitment to the faith community means three things right out of the gate: 1) regular and faithful participation in worship; 2) sacrificial sharing of time and resources for the common good; 3) and a willingness to listen before leading.

Without these deep commitments in place over time, I do not believe there is sufficient evidence for trust.  I have come to honor what Robert Greenleaf spoke of as "servant leadership who put it like this:

The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

It seems to me that the testimony of Christ is that we are called and healed - raised up in a way that is similar to the resurrection - in order to serve.  Again, Greenleaf is instructive when he writes:

The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?

I remember meeting Greenleaf while in seminary - and loved what he spoke about - but was too hot-headed to listen. But over the past 30 years I have found his insights into real gospel leadership on behalf of justice and compassion to be the road I have chosen to travel. It is small and slow.  It is very local - and rarely gets noticed.  I think that is what Jesus had in mind when he taught his disciples to pray:

And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

I have come to find myself living into the call for justice and compassion in ways that are very close to the words of Gregory Wolfe, editor of the IMAGE Journal, and Mako Fujimura, of IAM.  Check them out @ http://imagejournal.org/ and www.internationalartsmovement.org/. Here are some of Wolfe's insights that resonate with me...

 One of the legacies of the modern era has been the secularization of culture. For much of the twentieth century, the belief that God is dead, or at least inaccessible, has stripped a great deal of religious vision and wisdom from the modern imagination. Most of our leading critics and thinkers have been skeptical of, or indifferent to, artistic expressions of religious faith.

A culture is governed by its reigning myths. However, in the latter days of the twentieth century, there is an uneasy sense that materialism cannot sustain or nourish our common life. Thankfully, religion and art have always shared the capacity to help us to renew our awareness of the ultimate questions: who we are, where we have come from, and where we are going.

Understandably, religion and art also need each other. When we lack the kind of stimulus which only the imagination can provide, we make it more difficult to live the life of faith. And art, when it sees no creation to celebrate, and no soul in need of nurturing, loses its respect for truth.

Clearly, our culture is now more open to the art that engages the age-old tradition of exploring God's ways with man. Secular ideologies have lost much of their appeal and once again people are hungering for the unifying vision of the religious imagination.
This is the context out of which Image has emerged. Living as we do in a fragmented society, the need for cultural renewal is greater than at any time in our history. Despite the rise of secularism, America remains a religious nation, and it is ultimately in religious vision that healing and renewal are to be found.

Unfortunately, many Christians have allowed themselves to become so estranged from contemporary culture that they have essentially given up any hope of influencing the artists who will create the visual images, stories, and music that shape our time.
Few Christians have applied the concept of "stewardship" to culture itself. While it has been natural for Christians to see themselves as stewards of natural resources, or wealth, or the institutional church, there has been little sense of stewardship over our national culture.

Image speaks with equal force and relevance to the secular culture and to the church. By finding fresh ways for the imagination to embody religious truth and religious experience, Image challenges believers and nonbelievers alike.Through a commitment to artistic excellence and religious truth, Image has taken its place on the "public square" and is poised to make a lasting impact on the future of our national culture.

This seems to be where I am right now when it comes to the calling of justice and compassion:  what do you think?

credits:
1)
2) http://browse.deviantart.com/digitalart/?q=beauty can save the world#/dmlvve
3) http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/conceptual/?qh=&section=&q=beauty+#/dzhlg2
4) http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/conceptual/?q=beauty&order=9&offset=48#/d3dd0vm
5) http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/conceptual/?q=beauty&order=9&offset=120#/d47j8u
6) http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/conceptual/?q=beauty&order=9&offset=144#/d2cngko
7) http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/conceptual/?q=beauty&order=9&offset=192#/d9v464