{"id":38456,"date":"2024-09-17T03:49:26","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T10:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38456"},"modified":"2024-09-15T03:52:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T10:52:47","slug":"3-books-2-authors-1-trip-to-washington-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/3-books-2-authors-1-trip-to-washington-d-c\/","title":{"rendered":"3 books, 2 authors, 1 trip to Washington D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"

This week we are tasked with writing a different sort of blog post, in preparation for our week in Washington D.C. Firstly, let\u2019s dive into Jim Wallis\u2019 book. In God\u2019s Politics: Why the Left Gets it Wrong and the Right Doesn\u2019t Get it,<\/em> Wallis lays out his vision for a political ecosystem according to Kingdom principles. He frames his approach in the prophetic nature of the Christian faith which inherently calls us to walk in integrity and compassion and advocate for justice.<\/p>\n

There were two points in particular that I found to be pivotal. First, he argues that a government\u2019s economic policies should be evaluated based on their affect upon a society\u2019s most vulnerable.[1]<\/a> This recall\u2019s sociologist Rob Henderson\u2019s discussion of what he calls \u201cluxury beliefs\u201d, a term he coined. He explains the tendency of those who are well-off to hold seemingly progressive ideals, but that they are actually insulated from the consequences of those policies. It is often the most vulnerable who suffer the worst of the effects from these misguided policies.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

The second important point that struck me in Wallis\u2019 book is the subject of chapter 5. He advocates for creation care as a Biblical mandate and a responsibility of every Christ-follower.[3]<\/a> Unfortunately, in our current political culture it is too often reduced to a talking point or a political battleground between the right and the left.\u00a0 There are faith-based organizations dedicated to creation care, but their voices are too often minimized.<\/p>\n

Wallis ends by painting a picture of an America made great (again?) by becoming an ethical leader on the world stage that prioritizes the well-being of all people.[4]<\/a> That brings me the question that I hope to ask Jim Wallis. I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the only one wondering, \u201cWhat would you say to us now, 26 years after God\u2019s Politics<\/em> was published?\u201d So much has changed since 2008, so I wonder if Wallis would nuance his message at all. Perhaps add or subtract some points? I\u2019m looking forward to hearing his response.<\/p>\n

Moving now to the first of two books by Brett Fuller. In High Ceilings: Women in Leadership<\/em> Fuller argues that the Bible outlines a hierarchical relationship between a husband and his wife, but that those restrictions do not extend into the realm of church service and leadership. In other words, women as well as men may express their God-given gifts in church leadership without constraint. However, in the home there are \u201climitations and allowances that are non-negotiable.\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0 While I have plenty of thoughts on this topic, we are tasked with formulating a question for the author. Mine is as follows: How then is a female church leader (pastor, rector, priest, elder, etc.) to negotiate the spiritual authority she has over her congregation when a member of that congregation may well be her husband? Is she still a spiritual authority over him? Or is she to be fully submissive to her husband as her authority in all things? This question came to mind because I recently visited the church where my college roommate is the rector, and her husband attends the church but is not serving in ministry. I\u2019m curious to hear what Brett Fuller would advise in this situation.<\/p>\n

In Fuller\u2019s second book, Dreaming In Black And White, <\/em>he states his purpose clearly. \u201cThis book is largely written to help the black reader build a bridge to the white, and visa versa.\u201d[6]<\/a> He encourages us as church leaders, particularly white leaders, with these words: \u201cAs a pastor to the broader community, you must develop the ability to feel the pain of your entire community, not just the part of it with which you ethnically identify. You need to care about something bigger than yourself and the folks who look like you. You\u2019ve got to understand that black folks are tired, in pain, and white folks haven\u2019t been listening. But if you\u2019re ready to go beyond where you\u2019ve been before, I\u2019ll help you.\u201d[7]<\/a> And he does exactly that. He goes on to offer challenging and paradigm-shifting guidance. I look forward to hearing him articulate more in Washington D.C. The specific question I want to ask him is about his proposal to establish a monument called The National Enslaved Americans Memorial.[8]<\/a> I would like to know what sort of response he has received to this proposal and if the idea has been able to move forward.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also looking forward to reading the many excellent questions that other members of our cohort are preparing for these authors. See you all in D.C.!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Wallis, Jim. God\u2019s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn\u2019t Get It<\/em>. New York: Harper San Francisco, 2008.Ch. 3.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/10\/opinion\/campus-protests-progressive-henderson.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Wallis, Jim. God\u2019s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn\u2019t Get It<\/em>. New York: Harper San Francisco, 2008.Ch. 5.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., Ch. 7.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Fuller, Brett. \u00a0High Ceilings: Women in Leadership<\/em>. Independently published, 2021. 42.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Fuller, Brett. Dreaming In Black And White<\/em>. S.L.: Bookbaby, 2021. Kindle location 202.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid., Kindle location 1509.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid., Kindle location 1063.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week we are tasked with writing a different sort of blog post, in preparation for our week in Washington D.C. Firstly, let\u2019s dive into Jim Wallis\u2019 book. In God\u2019s Politics: Why the Left Gets it Wrong and the Right Doesn\u2019t Get it, Wallis lays out his vision for a political ecosystem according to Kingdom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"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":[2310],"tags":[2489,3208,3250],"class_list":["post-38456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dlgp02","tag-fuller","tag-wallis","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38456","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\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38457,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38456\/revisions\/38457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}