On March 11th, a federal appeals court ruled that the inclusion of the phrase “one nation under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution. At first glance, this appears to be a victory for Christians in America. However, when the ruling is read in its entirety, it should actually serve as a wakeup call.
The court’s decision was made based on the interpretation that including the phrase “under God” did not promote any specific religion or deity, but merely emphasized the idea that humans have inalienable rights. In this and similar cases, such as including the phrase, “In God We Trust” on our currency, the courts have argued that it is not promoting any particular religion because it can refer to any ‘god’, not necessarily the Christian one. The argument reminds us of the ancient Greeks who worshiped a deity they called Agnostos Theos, that is: the unknown god. In Acts 17, Paul proclaims to the believers in “the unknown God”: “Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth” (Acts 17:22-23).
As Christians, we do not worship a God who is merely a concept, precept, or abstract idea. We worship the Lord of Heaven and Earth who became incarnate as Jesus Christ. Over the past century, in our zeal to avoid offending anyone with our specific beliefs, we have pedaled a generic god instead of proclaiming the good news of the one true God. Ironically, in our attempts protect God, (as if he needed anything from us), we have diminished the power of our testimony to mere platitudes, moral laws and fuzzy images. As a result, Christianity may win the battle of being respectable in our culture, but lose the war of saving souls for Jesus Christ. If we continue down this path, Christianity will be irrelevant for anything except political pageantry.
The true battle that needs to be fought has nothing to do with meditation times in school, inscriptions on coins, pledges, or any other mandate of Congress. The true battle is how we witness to our specific faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is not as important that teachers lead prayers in school as it is that we teach kids to pray by our example. It doesn’t matter as much what is written on our coins as much as how we use our money in ways that honor God. It is not the words that we use in our pledges as much as the actions that we live out as disciples of Jesus Christ that will snatch souls from the devil. When we move from talking about ‘god’ to sharing the good news of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, some will sneer. But others will say, “We want to hear you again on this subject” (Acts 17:32). The battle will be won in the hearts of individuals, not in the chambers of the courts.
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Karl Sokol
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Gloria a Dios, Su Reino Está Aquí: The Prophetic Voice of the Hispanic Experience of the United Methodist Church in The United States
“You can try and teach us what us what you think the scripture says, and we will listen. We can teach you how to live the scripture. Will you listen?”1
Making up just a small percentage of The United Methodist Church (00.4 %), the Hispanic community of believers offers significant gifts and challenges to the denomination.2 There are about 17 Latino churches in the Northern Illinois conference that have Latino pastors and a Latino majority in the pew. They are traditionally small. Five Latino families can make up a congregation. Yet, on the one hand, they possess rich cultural and religious traditions that can inform the ways in which we do church. On the other, the systematic discrimination that is committed against Spanish-speaking immigrants and their descendants in the Unites States gives them a privileged vantage point from which to see the Kingdom of God.3 Following the leads that the Hispanic community demonstrates in dealing with social justice issues, we can better learn how to be church. Therefore, it is essential that the greater church look at ways to ensure the health of the Hispanic United Methodist community, as well as open itself to the gifts of transformation that it offers.
The religious tradition of the Hispanic community is composed of two strands. The first is Roman Catholicism, which is the most predominant faith of people in Mexico and South America, as well as amongst Latin Americans living in the States. The Hispanic flavor of Catholicism tends to be focused on ritual observances, mystery, the Saints, and Mary. As a result, members at Humboldt Park United Methodist Church, El Divino Redentor United Methodist Church and Adalberto United Methodist Church all cited a co-involvement with local Catholic Churches. Walter L. Coleman, Senior pastor at Adalberto commented, “Sometimes you come in here and you'll see the place is filled up out to the streets. This has usually been when we're doing something around the Virgin Mother. And this summer we haven't really had Sunday service because we've been spreading out throughout all the Catholic churches doing various different things with them.”4
Just as the Wesleys did not particularly want to stray too far from the Anglican Church, but rather be a reform movement within it, many Hispanic United Methodists have an elective affinity with the Catholic Church. Coleman notes, “What we have seen is in one sense spiritual discipline, intentional groups and such things combined with the very concept of sanctification and justification and social principles [which is] an overlay that works well on the Catholic Church. So, the mission and our reach are done in terms of Catholic Churches.”5 For all of its similarities to American Catholicism, though, the Latino American Methodist Church is a Mexican Catholic culture. According to Colman, “We see a lot of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans who have left the Catholic Church because the traditions are foreign to them compared to what they were like in their own country. The Catholic experience in the United States is as different to the Catholic experience in Mexico as it is from United Methodism.”6
Yet, by nature of their general economic status, there is also a similarity between Hispanic United Methodist’s and many of Wesley's initial followers, offering a renewal within United Methodism as well. “The Anglican Church is not very much different than the United Methodist Church today. You could imagine the church---a great big church with mostly middle-class folks and most of the seats are empty but they have an organ and stuff like that. Then some pastor wakes up next-door and sees 3000 guys from the local factories that want communion. And he must have been, like, you want me to get up and give communion to a bunch of dirty guys?”7 Needless to say, the similarity does not offer a favorable representation of United Methodism. Maria De La Cruz, a member of Adalberto, repeated this message. “So many pastors go from their middle class church to their middle class car and into their middle class house and they never see any day-to-day realities that the Latino community lives with. So the Latino community would challenge them to get out of their comfort zone to experience what it would be like to be one of their Latin American brothers and sisters.” She went on to observe, “With a grass root reality of what it is like to be with these people comes an experience of what it is like to be in the Kingdom of God. To realize that there are people in the Latino community who do not have anything to eat every day. What does that do to our Gospel of being brothers and sisters in Christ all across race boundaries.” 8 The economic status of our Hispanic brothers and sisters should shake us from our comfortable complacency and renew our social activist heritage, as well as reawaken our enthusiasm for worship. I attended three services, for a total of ten hours, with every minute of each one being engaging. Instead of sermons on how to be polite, I was inundated with images like “the horseman of the apocalypse is galloping up Division St. as we speak!” and given mandates on how to spend my money justly, and my Christian duty to participate in a large variety of causes from immigration law to protesting the wars.
When asked about the Hispanic United Methodist experience, two church members mentioned that for many Mexican-Americans who have been in this country their whole lives, they simply attend the mainstream United Methodist churches, bringing only cosmetic changes (such as the occasional Mexican song in service). These Latinos reportedly tend to be more liberal in their interpretation of the gospel and church doctrines. Pastor Coleman believes that there is a Methodist tradition from Latin America, which is more ‘evangelical’. Within this group, he cites a tension between those who are progressive, (e.g. Bishop Juan Vera Mendez of the Puerto Rico conference “which is both spiritual and socially active.)”9 And the more rapidly growing ‘Pentecostal’ movement of churches supported by “United States corporations who have wanted missions down there” and who “tend to be what we call American Zionism.”10 Although the latter is (an unfortunate) part of our heritage, the United Methodist Church officially broke from the idea that this nation was somehow chosen by God. Nonetheless, the former group offers the greatest challenge to how the church views itself. As several million more people enter this country, many whom see the US as their oppressor, the United Methodist church will have to clarify its stance even more. One voice is coming from Emma Lozano who, at a consultation on immigration ministry held at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary last year, charged the religious community to legalize undocumented workers and be consistent with the stand that we took in Bosnia, Liberia, Rwanda, and Kosovo, in our own back yard.11 Another witness is coming from Adalberto United Methodist Church, which has developed community services such as a Latino Parent Teachers Association in the Chicago area, a utility bill ministry, organized 100 congregations to speak out against the impending War in Iraq and, like many Latino United Methodist are active in immigration rights.12 13 14 According to deacon Eduardo Hernandez, churches like El Divino Redentor in Chicago provide the service of bridging the cultural rift that exists between natives of Latin America and their American born decedents. In 1998 Chicago, Iglesia Methodist Unida Betania administered a $19,000 grant to the Bethany/Adalberto Immigrant Defense Fund.15 In addition to the mission work that individual Latino congregations are doing, groups like Methodists Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic Americans (MARCHA), which has had agendas as diverse as establishing churches to demanding an apology for the arrogance of 19th c. Methodist Missionaries to Latin America, are making important advances. MARCHA was also influential in promoting The Council of Bishops to recognize the “Sojourners in Our Midst” “who find themselves in a country whose language they do not speak, whose immigration policies declare them illegal.”16
On the other hand, the “Pentecostal” trend, according to Coleman, “thinks that God is working nearly exclusively through the United States. This is the history of the institutional church, but it is more blatant when it is exported to Latin America and back again.” This trend demonstrates the fragile nature of a dominant group helping to establish a minority in its midst.
This is in part why it is essential that the future of the Latino church is motivated and sustained by a new generation of preachers from its own community. Unfortunately, there are several obstacles that must be faced to accomplish this, not least of which is funding. Recognizing the difficulties faced by minorities that are in a traditionally low-income demographic (as well as other factors that only allow the privileged to attend school), the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) offers an alternative tract for individuals “who are certified candidates for ordained ministry, who have successfully completed the Studies for License as a Local Pastor or one-third of their work for a master of divinity degree, who have been licensed by the bishop after approval by the district Committee and Board of Ordained Ministry, and are unable to attend an approved school of theology” which would allow them to become ordained as elders.17 GBHEM underwrites both the tuition and the transportation costs for about 150 students to attend Garrett-Evangelical, one of only three schools were this program is available in Spanish, each summer to go to this “Course of Study” (COS) program. This, and the fact that the Board of Trustees of Garrett-Evangelical established the Center for Hispanic Ministries in 1988 “In response to the urgent need for more ordained and diaconal leaders for churches in the Hispanic community” are encouraging signs that the seminary is part of a prophetic movement to enfranchise the Latino community within United Methodism.18 However, the success of the center in achieving its stated goal to bring “Hispanic culture and experience into the life of the seminary” is debatable. The unfortunate reality is that there has not been a single Latino students enrolled in one of the Masters programs at Garrett-Evangelical for at least two years. This is significant because, not only is the quality of the education arguably less extensive through the COS tract, it can take seven years for enrollees to become a local pastor.19 This puts the individual in a precarious situation, since they are not guaranteed a position, they cannot vote at conference, and are not guaranteed their pension. Furthermore, if they do lose their post in the church, they would not have an accredited degree that would be recognized outside of the church.
There is a certain level of commitment by the church to support future leaders within the Hispanic community. For example, The North Georgia conference is supporting A Leadership Development Program for Hispanic Students called LAOS — "Latinos on to serve": which includes full tuition (plus stipends) to the undergraduate program at Reinhardt College.20 Also, one member of Adalberto United Methodist Church believes that he will be accepted to Garrett-Evangelical next year on a full scholarship. However, Whether the Latino community will have adequate ‘native’ clergy leadership in the future is not limited to financial issues. Those families that are fortunate enough to be able to support their child through seminary face the challenge of maintaining a cultural link. As Minerva Carcaño notes, leaving home for college can also mean, “adopting new and different lifestyles. It even could mean losing the language.” Furthermore, “There is no cultural support system and they are cut off from their families and communities.” Over time, this disconnect may result in the student not returning to the community after they graduate.21
It is essential that we work out creative ways to overcome obstacles that face Hispanic United Methodists called to ministry. We must be able to “read the signs of the times and discern ways to enable diverse people…to experience the riches of tradition that are this denomination’s precious gifts.”22 As the demographics of this country change and the majority of its citizens come from Africa, the Middle East or Latin America, it will be increasingly tempting for the Anglo culture to attempt to colonize or annex a church just because we built the building and Latinos happen to be there. As Ruben Saenz reminds us, “We must be careful that our motivation for evangelizing the Hispanic community is not born out of a need to sustain the institution nor should it be done out of xenophobia…”.23 There is always the danger of making these churches “in the role of being objects of mission and not as being part of the national church.”24 Instead, we need to remind ourselves of Wesley's vision of renewal. The United Methodist Church has become an institution with privilege. Yet, God has proven himself in Christ and the cross with a very different model. By allowing the Hispanic United Methodist Church to inform our theology and way of doing church “from the underside,” we can be a more genuine witness to the Gospel. But as long the delegates to our annual conference meetings are 97 percent English-speaking and white, we are constantly at risk of falling. The problem before us in this next century is to seek the balance between co-opting, like we have in our missionary history, and segregating, like the white Methodists did to their African-American sisters and brothers. Nonetheless, “Would we not be more likely to find a happier and more Christian solution to these questions if we approached them not from the standpoint of problems but from the standpoint of opportunities?”25
May the church be a vehicle for Christ Jesus to do his Abba’s work through the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1. Betti Guevera, Asst Pastor of Iglesia Metodista Unida Adalberto. Personal interview. 22 Sep. 2002.
2. According to figures collected for the 1996 General Conference, Hispanic members comprise 42,797 out of a total membership of 8,654,699. http://www.umc.org/genconf/struct.html
3. Although there are significant numbers of economically ‘successful’ Hispanic immigrants, especially in Texas, nearly a third (27.9) lived in poverty (compared to 8.6 percent of non-Hispanic whites) in 1997. Improving the Collection and Use of Racial and Ethnic Data in HHS: Joint Report of the HHS Data Council Working Group on Racial and Ethnic Data AND The Data Work Group of the HHS Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. December, 1999. page 2. http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/datacncl/racerpt/
4. Walter L. Coleman. Pastor of Iglesia Metodista Unida Adalberto Personal interview. 23 Nov. 2002.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Maria De La Cruz. Personal interview in Spanish. Trans. by Teran Loepke. 22 Sep. 2002.
9. Coleman
10. Ibid.
11. Michael Wacht. “Hispanic Methodists tackle justice issues at assembly”. General Board of Global Ministries Archives. Nov 28, 2001. http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=680
12. Personal e-mail: “Testigo En Contra De La Guerra”. 20 Oct. 2002.
13. “Bishops award 31 Children and Poverty grants” United Methodist News Service Feb. 27, 2002
14. Newsletter. Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. http://www.icirr.org/newsandaction/PressReleaseInterfaithimmigranteventforWTC.htm
15. http://umns.umc.org/98/mar/123.htm
16. Alice Lucy Cobb. A Tapestry of Service: 100 Plus Years Along the Way in Church and Community Ministry. 2nd ed. (J & J Printers; Nashville, 1999). 87.
17. Jim Noseworthy. Handbook for Ordination, Ch 11. (Division of Higher Education). 1996. http://www.gbhem.org/gbhem/chap11.htm
18. Osvaldo Vena. Informational pamphlet for Center for Hispanic Ministries.
19. This comparison between COS and MDiv in no way reflects on the capabilities of Rex Piercy and Melissa Guerin!
20. http://www.gbod.org/hispanic/articles.asp?act=reader&item_id=2993
21. “Observations from the African-American, Hispanic-American, and European American
Perspectives”. Brief notes from a panel discussion by Daphne Wiggins, Minerva Carcaño and
Richard Boyer. Doing Ministry on Campus with People of Color: Resources for Intervention in Higher Education. Hicks, Richard ed. Published by the Campus Ministry Section, Division of Higher Education, United Methodist Board of Higher Education, 1991.
22. Thomas E. Frank. Polity, Practice and the Mission of the United Methodist Church . (Abingdon; Nashville, 1997). Page 28.
23. Ruben Saenz Jr. “Evngelism within the Hispanic Community: A Complex Calling.” Circuit Rider Nov/Dec 2002.
24. Celsa Garrastegui. “Hispanic Women Want No Melting Pot.” The Methodist Experience in America vol II. Ed. Russell E. Richey et al. (Abingdon; Nashville, 2000). Page 648.
25. Methodism’s Racial Dilemna. James S. Thomas. (Abingdon: Nashville. 1992). Page. 80.
Making up just a small percentage of The United Methodist Church (00.4 %), the Hispanic community of believers offers significant gifts and challenges to the denomination.2 There are about 17 Latino churches in the Northern Illinois conference that have Latino pastors and a Latino majority in the pew. They are traditionally small. Five Latino families can make up a congregation. Yet, on the one hand, they possess rich cultural and religious traditions that can inform the ways in which we do church. On the other, the systematic discrimination that is committed against Spanish-speaking immigrants and their descendants in the Unites States gives them a privileged vantage point from which to see the Kingdom of God.3 Following the leads that the Hispanic community demonstrates in dealing with social justice issues, we can better learn how to be church. Therefore, it is essential that the greater church look at ways to ensure the health of the Hispanic United Methodist community, as well as open itself to the gifts of transformation that it offers.
The religious tradition of the Hispanic community is composed of two strands. The first is Roman Catholicism, which is the most predominant faith of people in Mexico and South America, as well as amongst Latin Americans living in the States. The Hispanic flavor of Catholicism tends to be focused on ritual observances, mystery, the Saints, and Mary. As a result, members at Humboldt Park United Methodist Church, El Divino Redentor United Methodist Church and Adalberto United Methodist Church all cited a co-involvement with local Catholic Churches. Walter L. Coleman, Senior pastor at Adalberto commented, “Sometimes you come in here and you'll see the place is filled up out to the streets. This has usually been when we're doing something around the Virgin Mother. And this summer we haven't really had Sunday service because we've been spreading out throughout all the Catholic churches doing various different things with them.”4
Just as the Wesleys did not particularly want to stray too far from the Anglican Church, but rather be a reform movement within it, many Hispanic United Methodists have an elective affinity with the Catholic Church. Coleman notes, “What we have seen is in one sense spiritual discipline, intentional groups and such things combined with the very concept of sanctification and justification and social principles [which is] an overlay that works well on the Catholic Church. So, the mission and our reach are done in terms of Catholic Churches.”5 For all of its similarities to American Catholicism, though, the Latino American Methodist Church is a Mexican Catholic culture. According to Colman, “We see a lot of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans who have left the Catholic Church because the traditions are foreign to them compared to what they were like in their own country. The Catholic experience in the United States is as different to the Catholic experience in Mexico as it is from United Methodism.”6
Yet, by nature of their general economic status, there is also a similarity between Hispanic United Methodist’s and many of Wesley's initial followers, offering a renewal within United Methodism as well. “The Anglican Church is not very much different than the United Methodist Church today. You could imagine the church---a great big church with mostly middle-class folks and most of the seats are empty but they have an organ and stuff like that. Then some pastor wakes up next-door and sees 3000 guys from the local factories that want communion. And he must have been, like, you want me to get up and give communion to a bunch of dirty guys?”7 Needless to say, the similarity does not offer a favorable representation of United Methodism. Maria De La Cruz, a member of Adalberto, repeated this message. “So many pastors go from their middle class church to their middle class car and into their middle class house and they never see any day-to-day realities that the Latino community lives with. So the Latino community would challenge them to get out of their comfort zone to experience what it would be like to be one of their Latin American brothers and sisters.” She went on to observe, “With a grass root reality of what it is like to be with these people comes an experience of what it is like to be in the Kingdom of God. To realize that there are people in the Latino community who do not have anything to eat every day. What does that do to our Gospel of being brothers and sisters in Christ all across race boundaries.” 8 The economic status of our Hispanic brothers and sisters should shake us from our comfortable complacency and renew our social activist heritage, as well as reawaken our enthusiasm for worship. I attended three services, for a total of ten hours, with every minute of each one being engaging. Instead of sermons on how to be polite, I was inundated with images like “the horseman of the apocalypse is galloping up Division St. as we speak!” and given mandates on how to spend my money justly, and my Christian duty to participate in a large variety of causes from immigration law to protesting the wars.
When asked about the Hispanic United Methodist experience, two church members mentioned that for many Mexican-Americans who have been in this country their whole lives, they simply attend the mainstream United Methodist churches, bringing only cosmetic changes (such as the occasional Mexican song in service). These Latinos reportedly tend to be more liberal in their interpretation of the gospel and church doctrines. Pastor Coleman believes that there is a Methodist tradition from Latin America, which is more ‘evangelical’. Within this group, he cites a tension between those who are progressive, (e.g. Bishop Juan Vera Mendez of the Puerto Rico conference “which is both spiritual and socially active.)”9 And the more rapidly growing ‘Pentecostal’ movement of churches supported by “United States corporations who have wanted missions down there” and who “tend to be what we call American Zionism.”10 Although the latter is (an unfortunate) part of our heritage, the United Methodist Church officially broke from the idea that this nation was somehow chosen by God. Nonetheless, the former group offers the greatest challenge to how the church views itself. As several million more people enter this country, many whom see the US as their oppressor, the United Methodist church will have to clarify its stance even more. One voice is coming from Emma Lozano who, at a consultation on immigration ministry held at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary last year, charged the religious community to legalize undocumented workers and be consistent with the stand that we took in Bosnia, Liberia, Rwanda, and Kosovo, in our own back yard.11 Another witness is coming from Adalberto United Methodist Church, which has developed community services such as a Latino Parent Teachers Association in the Chicago area, a utility bill ministry, organized 100 congregations to speak out against the impending War in Iraq and, like many Latino United Methodist are active in immigration rights.12 13 14 According to deacon Eduardo Hernandez, churches like El Divino Redentor in Chicago provide the service of bridging the cultural rift that exists between natives of Latin America and their American born decedents. In 1998 Chicago, Iglesia Methodist Unida Betania administered a $19,000 grant to the Bethany/Adalberto Immigrant Defense Fund.15 In addition to the mission work that individual Latino congregations are doing, groups like Methodists Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic Americans (MARCHA), which has had agendas as diverse as establishing churches to demanding an apology for the arrogance of 19th c. Methodist Missionaries to Latin America, are making important advances. MARCHA was also influential in promoting The Council of Bishops to recognize the “Sojourners in Our Midst” “who find themselves in a country whose language they do not speak, whose immigration policies declare them illegal.”16
On the other hand, the “Pentecostal” trend, according to Coleman, “thinks that God is working nearly exclusively through the United States. This is the history of the institutional church, but it is more blatant when it is exported to Latin America and back again.” This trend demonstrates the fragile nature of a dominant group helping to establish a minority in its midst.
This is in part why it is essential that the future of the Latino church is motivated and sustained by a new generation of preachers from its own community. Unfortunately, there are several obstacles that must be faced to accomplish this, not least of which is funding. Recognizing the difficulties faced by minorities that are in a traditionally low-income demographic (as well as other factors that only allow the privileged to attend school), the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) offers an alternative tract for individuals “who are certified candidates for ordained ministry, who have successfully completed the Studies for License as a Local Pastor or one-third of their work for a master of divinity degree, who have been licensed by the bishop after approval by the district Committee and Board of Ordained Ministry, and are unable to attend an approved school of theology” which would allow them to become ordained as elders.17 GBHEM underwrites both the tuition and the transportation costs for about 150 students to attend Garrett-Evangelical, one of only three schools were this program is available in Spanish, each summer to go to this “Course of Study” (COS) program. This, and the fact that the Board of Trustees of Garrett-Evangelical established the Center for Hispanic Ministries in 1988 “In response to the urgent need for more ordained and diaconal leaders for churches in the Hispanic community” are encouraging signs that the seminary is part of a prophetic movement to enfranchise the Latino community within United Methodism.18 However, the success of the center in achieving its stated goal to bring “Hispanic culture and experience into the life of the seminary” is debatable. The unfortunate reality is that there has not been a single Latino students enrolled in one of the Masters programs at Garrett-Evangelical for at least two years. This is significant because, not only is the quality of the education arguably less extensive through the COS tract, it can take seven years for enrollees to become a local pastor.19 This puts the individual in a precarious situation, since they are not guaranteed a position, they cannot vote at conference, and are not guaranteed their pension. Furthermore, if they do lose their post in the church, they would not have an accredited degree that would be recognized outside of the church.
There is a certain level of commitment by the church to support future leaders within the Hispanic community. For example, The North Georgia conference is supporting A Leadership Development Program for Hispanic Students called LAOS — "Latinos on to serve": which includes full tuition (plus stipends) to the undergraduate program at Reinhardt College.20 Also, one member of Adalberto United Methodist Church believes that he will be accepted to Garrett-Evangelical next year on a full scholarship. However, Whether the Latino community will have adequate ‘native’ clergy leadership in the future is not limited to financial issues. Those families that are fortunate enough to be able to support their child through seminary face the challenge of maintaining a cultural link. As Minerva Carcaño notes, leaving home for college can also mean, “adopting new and different lifestyles. It even could mean losing the language.” Furthermore, “There is no cultural support system and they are cut off from their families and communities.” Over time, this disconnect may result in the student not returning to the community after they graduate.21
It is essential that we work out creative ways to overcome obstacles that face Hispanic United Methodists called to ministry. We must be able to “read the signs of the times and discern ways to enable diverse people…to experience the riches of tradition that are this denomination’s precious gifts.”22 As the demographics of this country change and the majority of its citizens come from Africa, the Middle East or Latin America, it will be increasingly tempting for the Anglo culture to attempt to colonize or annex a church just because we built the building and Latinos happen to be there. As Ruben Saenz reminds us, “We must be careful that our motivation for evangelizing the Hispanic community is not born out of a need to sustain the institution nor should it be done out of xenophobia…”.23 There is always the danger of making these churches “in the role of being objects of mission and not as being part of the national church.”24 Instead, we need to remind ourselves of Wesley's vision of renewal. The United Methodist Church has become an institution with privilege. Yet, God has proven himself in Christ and the cross with a very different model. By allowing the Hispanic United Methodist Church to inform our theology and way of doing church “from the underside,” we can be a more genuine witness to the Gospel. But as long the delegates to our annual conference meetings are 97 percent English-speaking and white, we are constantly at risk of falling. The problem before us in this next century is to seek the balance between co-opting, like we have in our missionary history, and segregating, like the white Methodists did to their African-American sisters and brothers. Nonetheless, “Would we not be more likely to find a happier and more Christian solution to these questions if we approached them not from the standpoint of problems but from the standpoint of opportunities?”25
May the church be a vehicle for Christ Jesus to do his Abba’s work through the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1. Betti Guevera, Asst Pastor of Iglesia Metodista Unida Adalberto. Personal interview. 22 Sep. 2002.
2. According to figures collected for the 1996 General Conference, Hispanic members comprise 42,797 out of a total membership of 8,654,699. http://www.umc.org/genconf/struct.html
3. Although there are significant numbers of economically ‘successful’ Hispanic immigrants, especially in Texas, nearly a third (27.9) lived in poverty (compared to 8.6 percent of non-Hispanic whites) in 1997. Improving the Collection and Use of Racial and Ethnic Data in HHS: Joint Report of the HHS Data Council Working Group on Racial and Ethnic Data AND The Data Work Group of the HHS Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. December, 1999. page 2. http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/datacncl/racerpt/
4. Walter L. Coleman. Pastor of Iglesia Metodista Unida Adalberto Personal interview. 23 Nov. 2002.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Maria De La Cruz. Personal interview in Spanish. Trans. by Teran Loepke. 22 Sep. 2002.
9. Coleman
10. Ibid.
11. Michael Wacht. “Hispanic Methodists tackle justice issues at assembly”. General Board of Global Ministries Archives. Nov 28, 2001. http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=680
12. Personal e-mail: “Testigo En Contra De La Guerra”. 20 Oct. 2002.
13. “Bishops award 31 Children and Poverty grants” United Methodist News Service Feb. 27, 2002
14. Newsletter. Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. http://www.icirr.org/newsandaction/PressReleaseInterfaithimmigranteventforWTC.htm
15. http://umns.umc.org/98/mar/123.htm
16. Alice Lucy Cobb. A Tapestry of Service: 100 Plus Years Along the Way in Church and Community Ministry. 2nd ed. (J & J Printers; Nashville, 1999). 87.
17. Jim Noseworthy. Handbook for Ordination, Ch 11. (Division of Higher Education). 1996. http://www.gbhem.org/gbhem/chap11.htm
18. Osvaldo Vena. Informational pamphlet for Center for Hispanic Ministries.
19. This comparison between COS and MDiv in no way reflects on the capabilities of Rex Piercy and Melissa Guerin!
20. http://www.gbod.org/hispanic/articles.asp?act=reader&item_id=2993
21. “Observations from the African-American, Hispanic-American, and European American
Perspectives”. Brief notes from a panel discussion by Daphne Wiggins, Minerva Carcaño and
Richard Boyer. Doing Ministry on Campus with People of Color: Resources for Intervention in Higher Education. Hicks, Richard ed. Published by the Campus Ministry Section, Division of Higher Education, United Methodist Board of Higher Education, 1991.
22. Thomas E. Frank. Polity, Practice and the Mission of the United Methodist Church . (Abingdon; Nashville, 1997). Page 28.
23. Ruben Saenz Jr. “Evngelism within the Hispanic Community: A Complex Calling.” Circuit Rider Nov/Dec 2002.
24. Celsa Garrastegui. “Hispanic Women Want No Melting Pot.” The Methodist Experience in America vol II. Ed. Russell E. Richey et al. (Abingdon; Nashville, 2000). Page 648.
25. Methodism’s Racial Dilemna. James S. Thomas. (Abingdon: Nashville. 1992). Page. 80.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
carl thomas gladstone
I was outside, enjoying the ridiculously nice weather, when my old pal Carl Thomas Gladstone called. He mentioned about me being on his rather excellent podcast, and sure enough, I'm right there on the 'ol Christmas post working with him on a rather funky track based on the book of Habakkuk. I don't have this exact recording, so it was nice to hear it. I'm a little embarrassed about how I get my Jimmy Swaggart on toward the end there, but otherwise it is enjoyable prophetic music with a summery (if not Christmassy) edge.
Check it out under Storyteller #13 While your there, listen to the tons of superior CTG solo stuff.
Check it out under Storyteller #13 While your there, listen to the tons of superior CTG solo stuff.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Temptation
Temptation properly defined is “settling for less”. Temptation is settling for less. That is the human condition. The second chapter of Genesis, with the Adam and Eve story, is a story about temptation, right. If you brought your swords with you, open to Genesis 2 with me. God created a paradise for these two ancestors of ours, but in the midst of this paradise was a tree.
In Chapter 2, vs. 3 we read that God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'
And then the serpent, commonly understood in our tradition to be Satan, comes up with a counter argument. A better idea than God's plan.
4 You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Here's a tip for you to pass on to your children and grand-children: if you think that you know better than God, you don't. Sounds obvious but how often do we ignore it. How often do we 'settle for less' than the abundant life that God planned for us?
And then what does she do? In vs 6. we read,
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
Let's be honest, most of the published theology in the history of the church has been by men. So, it is no surprise that Eve has gotten most of the blame throughout the ages. Well, this is one of those times when we need to reach past the tradition and go straight to the Scriptures, Eve didn't strap Adam down and put a feeding tube in his mouth. Adam was a big boy. He could make his own decisions. Whenever you see this story portrayed, whether it be Bette Davis on the Bergan and McCarthy radio program where she invents “apple sauce”, or in Milton's Paradise Lost where she has psychic control over poor Adam, or in the thousands of Renaissance artists who were looking for a respectable excuse for painting naked people, or in the way my own Sunday School teacher taught the story, we always have a reluctant Adam saying, “I don't know about this.” And Eve finally seducing him. But, as we just read, the Scriptures say, “She gave some to her husband, and he ate it.”
For that matter, the serpent probably gets too much credit from the narrator of the story as being “more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made”. It's not like he came up with a particularly clever argument. He didn't go to much effort to prove his (or her) statements. Just said, “oh it's O.K., God doesn't want what's best for you.” And then Adam and Eve succumbed to this pathetic excuse for a temptation. They settled for less than what God intended. Way less!
The could have taken the Nancy Reagan route. When a group of students asked her how they could remain drug-free, she replied, "Just say No!" Now, even though, when that became extrapolated into a national policy of a “Drug War” it ended up causing more harm than good, the truth of the comment remained, "Just Say No". On the personal level, the Bible makes it clear that we can resist temptation and sin by just saying No! Adam and Eve could have just said no, I want life and I want it abundantly. Snakes do not have better ideas than God.
Let's stop thinking of resisting temptation as depriving us from something that we want, and instead recognize it as merely settling for less!
In Chapter 2, vs. 3 we read that God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'
And then the serpent, commonly understood in our tradition to be Satan, comes up with a counter argument. A better idea than God's plan.
4 You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Here's a tip for you to pass on to your children and grand-children: if you think that you know better than God, you don't. Sounds obvious but how often do we ignore it. How often do we 'settle for less' than the abundant life that God planned for us?
And then what does she do? In vs 6. we read,
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
Let's be honest, most of the published theology in the history of the church has been by men. So, it is no surprise that Eve has gotten most of the blame throughout the ages. Well, this is one of those times when we need to reach past the tradition and go straight to the Scriptures, Eve didn't strap Adam down and put a feeding tube in his mouth. Adam was a big boy. He could make his own decisions. Whenever you see this story portrayed, whether it be Bette Davis on the Bergan and McCarthy radio program where she invents “apple sauce”, or in Milton's Paradise Lost where she has psychic control over poor Adam, or in the thousands of Renaissance artists who were looking for a respectable excuse for painting naked people, or in the way my own Sunday School teacher taught the story, we always have a reluctant Adam saying, “I don't know about this.” And Eve finally seducing him. But, as we just read, the Scriptures say, “She gave some to her husband, and he ate it.”
For that matter, the serpent probably gets too much credit from the narrator of the story as being “more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made”. It's not like he came up with a particularly clever argument. He didn't go to much effort to prove his (or her) statements. Just said, “oh it's O.K., God doesn't want what's best for you.” And then Adam and Eve succumbed to this pathetic excuse for a temptation. They settled for less than what God intended. Way less!
The could have taken the Nancy Reagan route. When a group of students asked her how they could remain drug-free, she replied, "Just say No!" Now, even though, when that became extrapolated into a national policy of a “Drug War” it ended up causing more harm than good, the truth of the comment remained, "Just Say No". On the personal level, the Bible makes it clear that we can resist temptation and sin by just saying No! Adam and Eve could have just said no, I want life and I want it abundantly. Snakes do not have better ideas than God.
Let's stop thinking of resisting temptation as depriving us from something that we want, and instead recognize it as merely settling for less!
Friday, February 02, 2007
The Pastor's Library
My project to catalog all of my theological, biblical and otherwise churchy books is finally underway. Simply browse through the titles on the right of this blog or click on the link to my librarything page and find what interests you. Then, track me down at church or on e-mail and I will gladly get the book to you.
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=revkarl
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=revkarl
Friday, December 15, 2006
Desert Wisdom
Some old men
went to Abba Poemen and asked,
"If we see brothers sleeping during the common prayer, should we wake them?"
Abba Poemen answered,
"If I see my brother sleeping, I put his head on my knees
and let him rest."
Then one old man spoke up,
"And how do you explain yourself before God?"
Abba Poemen replied,
"I say to God: You have said, 'First take the beam out of your own eye and then you will be able to remove the splinter from the eye of your brother.' "
We are moving toward mission (but ain't there yet.)
"MAINTENANCE OR MISSION
by Pastor Davehttp://revcamp.blogspot.com/2006/11/church-that-doesnt-suck.html
1. In measuring the effectiveness, the maintenance congregation asks, "How many pastoral visits are being made?” The mission congregation asks, "How many disciples are being made?"
2. When contemplating some form of change, the maintenance congregation says, "If this proves upsetting to any of our members, we won't do it." The mission congregation says, "If this will help us reach someone on the outside, we will take the risk and do it."
3. When thinking about change, the majority of members in a maintenance congregation ask, "How will this affect me?" The majority of members in the mission congregation ask, "Will this increase our ability to reach those outside?"
4. When thinking of its vision for ministry, the maintenance congregation says, "We have to be faithful to our past." The mission congregation says, "We have to be faithful to our future."
5. The pastor in the maintenance congregation says to the newcomer, "I'd like to introduce you to some of our members." In the mission congregation the members say, "We'd like to introduce you to our pastor."
6. When confronted with a legitimate pastoral concern, the pastor in the maintenance congregation asks, "How can I meet this need?" The pastor in the mission congregation asks, "How can this need be met?"
7. The maintenance congregation seeks to avoid conflict at any cost (but rarely succeeds). The mission congregation understands that conflict is the price of progress, and is willing to pay the price. It understands that it cannot take everyone with it. This causes some grief, but it does not keep it from doing what needs to be done.
8. The leadership style in the maintenance congregation is primarily managerial, where leaders try to keep everything in order and running smoothly. The leadership style in a mission congregation is primarily transformational, casting a vision of what can be, and marching off the map in order to bring the vision into reality.
9. The maintenance congregation is concerned with their congregation, its organizations and structure, its constitutions and committees. The mission congregation is concerned with the culture, with understanding how secular people think and what makes them tick. It tries to determine their needs and their points of accessibility to the Gospel.
10. When thinking about growth, the maintenance congregations asks, "How many Methodists live within a twenty-minute drive of this church?" The mission congregation asks, "How many unchurched people live within a twenty-minute drive of this church?"
11. The maintenance congregation looks at the community and asks, "How can we get these people to support our congregation?" The mission congregation asks, "How can the Church support these people?"
12. The maintenance congregation thinks about how to save their congregation. The mission congregation thinks about how to reach the world."
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