{"id":39160,"date":"2024-10-28T11:31:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T18:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39160"},"modified":"2024-10-28T11:31:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T18:31:27","slug":"where-are-leaders-pointing-and-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/where-are-leaders-pointing-and-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"Where are Leaders Pointing and Calling?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cFacts in isolation are false \u00a0. . . A fact is true in the absolute sense only in association with all facts.<\/em><\/span>\u201d -Wendell Berry[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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The Japanese railway system is regarded as one of the best in the world. If you ever find yourself riding a train in Tokyo, you\u2019ll notice that the conductors have a peculiar habit. As each operator runs the train, they proceed through a ritual pointing at different objects and calling out commands. \u00a0When the train approaches a signal, the operator will point at it and say, \u201cSignal is green.\u201d \u00a0As the train pulls into and out of each station, the operator will point at the speedometer and call out the exact speed. \u00a0When it\u2019s time to leave, the operator will point at the timetable and state the time. Out on the platform, other employees are performing similar actions. \u00a0Before each train departs, staff members will point along the edge of the platform and declare, \u201cAll Clear!\u201d \u00a0Every detail is identified, pointed at, and named aloud.<\/span><\/p>\n

This process known as pointing and calling[2]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0is a safety system designed to reduce mistakes. It seems silly but it works incredibly well. \u00a0Pointing and Calling reduces errors by up to 85 percent and cuts accidents by 30 percent. \u00a0Pointing and Calling is so effective because it raises the level of awareness from an unconscious habit to a more conscious level. \u00a0Because the train operators must use their eyes, hands and mouth and ears they are more likely to notice problems before something goes wrong. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After reading books on racism,[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0cancel culture,[4]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict,[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The Anxious Generation<\/em>,<\/span>[6]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and now Christian nationalism, I wonder\u2013is our Pointing and Calling system reducing the errors leaders inflict upon the world?<\/span><\/p>\n

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With Which Other Voices Do We Point and Call?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Russell Moore in\u00a0Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call in Evangelical America<\/span><\/em>[7]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0is practicing the habit of pointing and calling when it comes to the degradation, spiritual rot and moral wickedness in Christian leadership\u2013the central theme of the book is that he addresses the way the American Evangelical church has lost its unique witness in platforming Donald Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems we are in a new era of writing where Christian Evangelical leaders are seeing things not only in the American evangelical church but the broader culture as well\u2013the pointing and calling of what\u2019s gone terribly wrong. Moore\u2019s memoir is akin to the stances of David French,[8]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Kristin Kobes Du Mez,[9]<\/a><\/sup> Andrew Whitehead and Skye Jethani and even the popular Bible teacher, Beth Moore[10]<\/a><\/sup> \u2013each who condemn Christian nationalism as they lament their stories of the Church\u2013and Donald Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russell Moore is calling out the Church\u2019s automatic behaviors that, according to him, many people don\u2019t consciously think about.[11]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0As James Clear notes in his book,\u00a0Atomic Habits<\/em>,<\/span>\u00a0\u201cWhen we\u2019ve done something 1000 times before, we begin to overlook things. We\u2019re so used to doing what we\u2019ve always done that we don\u2019t stop to question if it\u2019s the right thing to do at all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Russell Moore expertly names the failures in conservative Christianity\u2019s performance. It\u2019s my hope a voice like Moore\u2019s reduces errors but wouldn\u2019t that depend upon who reads it?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Who is the Audience for this Book?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Might the audience be for evangelicals like me who can identify with several of Russell Moore\u2019s early stories? I was raised in a conservative Christian culture, attended Christian schools most of my life and (dare I say) earned my bachelor’s degree from Liberty University\u2013the mecca of Southern Baptist culture. My parents begged me to not attend LU, to stay in New Jersey and attend Rutgers University. \u00a0What drew me was the energy of belonging to a community centered on God\u2013the strong moral teachings from world class leaders. \u00a0However, when I was a student I heard the rumblings of racism, the hypocrisy of elitism, and the hunger for power. In response, I wore black writing poetry and songs in coffee houses until I graduated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Might the audience be for evangelicals who relate with James Davison Hunter\u2019s warnings from almost a decade ago? He wrote that, \u201cmuch of American evangelical \u201cculture war\u201d engagement was based in a heightened sense of resentment\u2013a resentment posture that is heightened when the group holds a sense of entitlement\u2013to greater respect, to greater power, to a place of majority status. While I was at Liberty, Jerry Falwell\u2019s moral majority was just coming to an end\u2013because of my major and the student leaders with whom I had relationship, I didn\u2019t hear \u201cthe condemnation and denigration of enemies in the effort to subjugate and dominate those who are culpable.\u201d[12]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, In the late 80s, social media didn\u2019t exist and rarely would I have turned on the nightly news in my dorm room. \u00a0I learned and grew tremendously during college; my worldview expanded and my moral outlook improved. I wonder why? Perhaps I was too far removed from the culture wars? My point is that even in the midst of a broken religious system, I was drawn to the power of the Cross because the message was so clear.\u00a0 As I read the authors who are pointing and calling about the brokenness, I am longing for the Gospel to be compelling for the next generation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nWhich Audience Might Be Best for this Book?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This past weekend, my husband and I were having an in-depth conversation with a known New Testament author and his wife about Christian nationalism, Donald Trump and the Church. We said we were concerned that Christianity needs to be sectarian again and remove Trump from the rhetoric so the Gospel will be compelling. This led me to think that a good audience for this book would be those who correlate Trump with Christianity\u2013and until then we need more voices pointing and calling to the religious and political behaviors that converge the two. As Martyn Percy taught in Oxford, \u201cWords can dominate, mislead and manipulate; a leader\u2019s goal is to be honest[13]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and direct.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n
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[1]<\/a>\u00a0Berry, Wendell.\u00a0<\/span>Citizenship Papers: Essays<\/span>. Catapult, 2004. P. 41.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n

[2]<\/a>\u00a0Clear, James. \u201cAtomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results\u202f: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.\u201d New York, New York: Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n

[3]<\/a>\u00a0Malik, Kenan.\u00a0<\/span>Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics<\/span>. London: Hurst, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n

[4]<\/a>\u00a0Lukianoff, Greg. \u201cThe Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All–but There Is a Solution.\u201d New York: Simon and Schuster, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n

[5]<\/a>\u00a0Bunton, Martin.\u00a0<\/span>The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Very Short Introduction<\/span>. Illustrated edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n

[6]<\/a>\u00a0Haidt, Jonathan.\u00a0<\/span>The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness<\/span>. New York: Penguin Press, 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

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[7]<\/a>\u00a0Moore, Russell.\u00a0<\/span>Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America<\/span>. New York, New York: Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

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[8]<\/a>\u00a0French, David.\u00a0<\/span>Divided We Fall: America\u2019s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation<\/span>. New York: St. Martin\u2019s Press, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

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[9]<\/a>\u00a0Du Mez, Kristin Kobes.\u00a0<\/span>Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation<\/span>. First edition. New York, NY: Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

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[10]<\/a>\u00a0Moore, Beth.\u00a0<\/span>All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir<\/span>. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

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[11]<\/a>\u00a0Moore, Russell.\u00a0<\/span>Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America<\/span>. Pp. 44, 69.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[12]<\/a>\u00a0P.122.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[13]<\/a>\u00a0Percy, Martyn.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cFacts in isolation are false \u00a0. . . A fact is true in the absolute sense only in association with all facts.\u201d -Wendell Berry[1] The Japanese railway system is regarded as one of the best in the world. If you ever find yourself riding a train in Tokyo, you\u2019ll notice that the conductors have a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"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":[3328,2972,3330,3326,3327,3325,3329,964],"class_list":["post-39160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bethmoore","tag-davidfrench","tag-gospelofchrist","tag-losingourreligion","tag-pointingandcalling","tag-russellmoore","tag-whoistheaudience","tag-percy","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39160","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\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39161,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39160\/revisions\/39161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}