{"id":38062,"date":"2024-09-02T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T16:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38062"},"modified":"2024-12-02T19:06:49","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T03:06:49","slug":"what-will-we-preach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/what-will-we-preach\/","title":{"rendered":"What Will We Preach?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you back off from every little controversy in your life you\u2019re not alive\u2026and what\u2019s more, you\u2019re boring!\u00a0 [The truth is] you can be more alive in pain than in complacency.\u00a0 It\u2019s not enough to pray, \u2018Grant us peace in our time, O Lord.\u2019\u00a0 God must be saying, \u2018Oh, come off it!\u00a0 What are you going to do for peace, for heaven\u2019s sake?\u2019\u00a0 It\u2019s not enough to pray for peace.\u00a0 You have to work for justice.\u00a0 You have to suffer for it, and you have to endure a lot for it.\u00a0 So don\u2019t just pray about it[1]<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Have I mentioned that I had tea with N.T. Wright when we were in Oxford last fall? (This is your invitation to a giant eye roll in my direction.)\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We sat down for tea at a local coffee house, engaging in a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion covered personal topics like his joy at ferrying around his grand-children from football to choir practice, favorite vacation venues as well as more professional matters including mental health and the church and Wright\u2019s current writing projects. As I was a bit nervous about meeting this academic great, he immediately put me at ease with his interest in me and his openness to sharing about his own life. I left our time together with a warm heart toward this wonderfully kind and engaging man, which made me all the more excited to read his and Michael Bird\u2019s book, Jesus and the Powers<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The book did not disappoint.<\/p>\n

The main point I am taking away from reading this book is that as someone whose primary identity is \u201cchild of God\u201d and follower of Jesus, I can trust that Christ equips and empowers me to engage courageously in the face of political injustice. Just as Jesus proclaimed and practiced the Kin-dom of God[2]<\/a>, those who try to follow Jesus are tasked with living as Kin-dom people, not through force or domination but through radical love that sees God\u2019s image in each person. As Wright and Bird say in their introduction, \u201cThe task is about trying to think and pray through the missional vocation and kingdom witness of the Church in our contested political theaters.\u201d[3]<\/a> Like Simon Walker invites us to do, to lead out of who you are not out of what you know or skills you have, this book by Wright and Bird reminded me that by knowing deeply who I am and Whose I am, I am empowered to work toward healing and reconciliation.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Jesus as King<\/strong><\/p>\n

While I had obviously heard the phrase, \u201cJesus is King\u201d growing up in the Church, the first time I considered the power it carries was in seminary when my professors placed it in the context of politics. If Jesus is King, then the USA is not. If Jesus is King, then capitalism is not. If Jesus is King, our allegiance is to him and the Kingdom he proclaims first and foremost. Wright and Bird, make this claim saying, \u201cWe believe the Church\u2019s answer to the global crises of our day is, in sum, the kingdom of God. The Church\u2019s message and mission rest on the notion that God is King, God has appointed Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords, and the Church\u2019s vocation is to build for the kingdom.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

As a pastor and Teaching Elder one of my preaching tasks is to continually point my congregation to the self-giving love and power of Jesus over the powers of this world, reminding them that Jesus is the One we follow rather than the many influences of capitalism, racism, nationalism, and all the other \u201cisms.\u201d Jesus as King is one way to describe his self-giving power over the powers of the world, but I wonder if we who are trying to live into a world of equality could imagine more inclusive language for describing the good news of the power of the risen Jesus.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 Victory over the Powers<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cJesus is King\u201d means that Jesus \u201cachieved something previously unthinkable. He had won the decisive victory over the principalities and powers and was now enthroned as Lord of both heaven and earth.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

William Sloane Coffin writes, \u201cWhat makes Easter so exciting is the cosmic quality of it.\u00a0 For Easter has less to do with one person\u2019s escape from the grave than with the victory of seemingly powerless love over loveless power.\u00a0 Easter represents a demand as well as a promise, a demand not that we sympathize with the crucified Christ, but that we pledge our loyalty to the risen one.\u00a0 That means an end to all loyalties, to all people, and to all institutions that crucify.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

This also means that we, Easter people, those who trust in and follow the risen Christ, are invited to put Easter into practice in our preaching, our teaching, and in our living, challenging injustice, being ambassadors of reconciliation, speaking truth to power, and seeing the powers reconciled to God.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

Christian Nationalism<\/strong><\/p>\n

In recent years we\u2019ve seen a rise of Christian nationalism in the United States of America. Wright and Bird write, \u201cWhen we warn of the evils of Christian nationalism, we are warning of the danger of the government trying to enforce Christian hegemony combined with civil religion. In other words, the danger is that Christians are given privileges by the State and Christianity becomes an outward display of patriotic devotion rather than part of true religious affection.\u201d[10]<\/a> They continue describing the many ways Christian nationalism is \u201cbad on every level imaginable.\u201d[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

In an article in the Presbyterian Outlook, pastor and author Haley Ballast asks, \u201cChristians see the unholy union of American exceptionalism, White supremacy and Christian identity parading across stages at rallies and worship services alike, and we are left wringing our hands. What is a faithful and reasonable response?\u201d Studying the confessions of the Church, Ballast and a few other pastors created a summer sermon series titled, \u201cFrom Barmen to Belhar: Why We Reject White Christian Nationalism.\u201d[12]<\/a> Together these pastors studied church history and worked through their fears and insecurities of leading their congregations through such a series. Ballast writes, \u201cAs solo pastors, it felt like a rare gift to work through these questions in community and to know that we wouldn\u2019t be out on a limb by ourselves as we took this on.\u201d[13]<\/a> And as they studied confessions of the Church, they saw that the Church has been through this before. \u201cWe have a history and legacy of resistance that we are invited to embrace and embody. Beyond that, our specific churches are not alone! The churches we pastor have been neighbors for many decades, but this summer we were all focused on the same theme, asked the same questions, and intentionally practiced being together. This has made a palpable difference.\u201d[14]<\/a><\/p>\n

Courage to Preach Truth to Power<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I grow into my calling as a preacher, these words of Wright and Bird, along with the invitations of many other theologians and preachers, echo in my heart and mind. They remind us that the full message of the Gospel is not about leaving this world for a better one but has profound implications for how we engage with the world around us, including its power structures. Jesus lived and taught in a politically charged environment, under the rule of an empire, and was ultimately executed by the empire. He did not back down from the politics of his day but taught his followers how to live in ways that inspire the flourishing of all life. Like Haley Ballast, I hope to find partners in conversation, prayer, and leading a congregation, who will encourage me to help the churches I pastor to reflect on how our faith shapes our engagement with the world, always striving to embody Christ\u2019s love and justice in our individual and communal lives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> William Sloane Coffin, Living The Truth In a World of Illusions<\/em>, San Francisco, Harper & Row Pub., 1985, Chp. 15. https:\/\/pres-outlook.org\/2006\/04\/an-easter-tribute-to-william-sloane-coffin-in-his-own-words\/<\/a> , accessed August 30, 2024.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> See footnote 6 for a conversation regarding \u201cKing\u201d language. In the congregations I\u2019ve served we\u2019ve used both, \u201cKingdom\u201d and \u201cKin-dom\u201d to refer to the just, loving, shalom of God\u2019s rule on earth.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Michael F. Bird and N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Powers Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies<\/em>, Zondervan Publishing, March 26, 2024, 18 of 221 on Barnes and Noble\u2019s Nook application.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership<\/em>, Piquant Editions, 2007, 5.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid, 28 of 221 on Barnes and Noble\u2019s Nook application.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> A note about the terminology of King and Kingdom: In his book Christian Doctrine<\/em>, Shirley Guthrie writes, \u201cWords like lord, ruler, king and kingdom sound strange to us. They sound so archaic, so undemocratic, and so male! Should we not translate this outdated hierarchical, sexist language taken from the environment of the ancient world into language that makes more sense in our time and is less likely to give ammunition to those who want to defend the superiority of men and the inferiority of women?\u201d Guthrie continues to say that it is \u201cno accident that the New Testament uses political images to speak of the meaning of the resurrection and Jesus\u2019 Kingship and that Jesus is not Lord because we voted him into office but because God made him Lord. None of the words we have are sufficient for describing the good news that the power of the risen Jesus is the power of self-giving love. He exercises his power in such a way that it does not dominate or control, does not rob us of our freedom and destroy our human dignity, but rather gives and nourishes genuine free human life for all of us \u2013 people of all genders, races, classes, cultures, and nations. Page 446 of 716 on Everand application.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Michael F. Bird and N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Powers Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies<\/em>, Zondervan Publishing, March 26, 2024, 73 of 221 on Barnes and Noble\u2019s Nook application.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> William Sloane Coffin,\u201d\u009d Religion & Ethics: Interview by Bob Abernethy, August 27, 2004, Episode #752, https:\/\/pres-outlook.org\/2006\/04\/an-easter-tribute-to-william-sloane-coffin-in-his-own-words\/<\/a> accessed August 30, 2024.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Michael F. Bird and N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Powers Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies<\/em>, Zondervan Publishing, March 26, 2024, 90 of 221 on Barnes and Noble\u2019s Nook application.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Ibid, 152 of 221.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Ibid, 153 of 221<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a>Haley Ballast, Three churches, one focus: Uniting to confront Christian Nationalism<\/em>, Presbyterian Outlook, August 19, 2024, https:\/\/pres-outlook.org\/2024\/08\/three-churches-one-focus-uniting-to-confront-christian-nationalism\/<\/a> accessed August 30, 2024.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a>Ibid.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you back off from every little controversy in your life you\u2019re not alive\u2026and what\u2019s more, you\u2019re boring!\u00a0 [The truth is] you can be more alive in pain than in complacency.\u00a0 It\u2019s not enough to pray, \u2018Grant us peace in our time, O Lord.\u2019\u00a0 God must be saying, \u2018Oh, come off it!\u00a0 What are you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2489,3242,3241,3240],"class_list":["post-38062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp02","tag-jesusandthepowers","tag-n-t-wright","tag-wrightandbird","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38062"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39741,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38062\/revisions\/39741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}