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ELMC Learning Moment
July 2010
We are thankful for this month's learning moment from the
Committee on Disabilities, offering excerpts from inspirational words that
were created by the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Disabilities
Advocates Network (EDAN) with participation from the Faith and Order
Commission. This document, while not meant to be comprehensive, "offers
pointers and insights on major theological themes" having to do with the
inclusion of persons with disabilities as full participants in the life of
the Church.
Rev. Dr. Devorah Greenstein works at the intersections of
theology, disability studies, and developmental psychology. She is an
ordained Unitarian Universalist minister recently retired from eight years
of service as Director of her denomination’s Office of Accessibility
Concerns, and she continues her institutional calling as the Chair of the
National Council of Churches Committee on Disabilities. She is currently a
visiting research fellow at Yale Divinity School, and serves as adjunct
faculty at one of the Unitarian Universalist seminaries, Starr King School
for the Ministry, a member of the Graduate Theological Union.
Publications:
Helping Children who are Deaf 2003
Berkeley, Calif., Hesperian Foundation Simple Gifts 2000 Ithaca,
N.Y.: Cornell Cooperative
Extension Easy things to make –
to make things easy, 1997 Cambridge Mass., Brookline Books
Backyards and Butterflies: Ways to Include Children with Disabilities,
1995 Cambridge Mass., Brookline Books
A Church of All and for All –
Welcoming People with Disabilities
As the author of the letter to the Ephesians stressed:
Christ came to tear down the walls (Eph 2:14). Whenever we consider the ways
in which to respond to issues of disability, we do well to remember the
walls that we have set up. All of
these
walls are so human, yet they contradict Christ’s ministry of reconciliation;
walls that shut people in or shut people out; walls that prevent people from
meeting and talking to others... walls of shame; walls of prejudice; walls
of hatred; walls of competition; walls of fear; walls of ignorance; walls of
theological prejudice and cultural misunderstanding. The Church is called to
be an inclusive community, to tear down the walls. (p.1)
All life is a gift from God, and there is an integrity to
this creation. We read in Genesis (1:31) that after creating all of heaven
and earth and every form of life, God saw that "… indeed, it was very good."
God did not say it was "perfect". With the breath of life, God has imbued
each person with dignity and worth. We believe that humanity is "created in
the image and likeness of God," (Gen 1:26) with each human bearing aspects
of that divine nature yet no one of us reflecting God fully or completely.
Being in God’s image does not just mean bearing this likeness, but the
possibility of becoming as God intends.
This includes all people, whatever their abilities or
impairments. It means that every human being is innately gifted and has
something to offer that others need. This may be simply one’s presence,
one’s capacity to respond to attention, to exhibit some sign of
appreciation, and love for other people. Each has something unique to
contribute (1 Cor 12:12-27) and should thus be considered as a gift. We
cannot speak about this "giftedness" without also speaking about each
person's limitations. They are the basis of our need of each other and of
God, irrespective of the labeling of our abilities. Living in this
interdependence opens us to one another and to a deeper, more honest,
self-knowledge, and so makes us each more fully human, more fully people of
communion, more fully realizing the Imago Dei we bear... (p.11)
The church is by definition a place and a process of
communion, open to and inviting all people without discrimination. It is a
place of hospitality and a place of welcome, in the manner that Abraham and
Sarah received God’s messengers in the Old Testament (Gen. 18). It is an
earthly reflection of a divine unity that is at the same time worshipped as
Trinity. It is a community of people with different yet complementary gifts.
It is a vision of wholeness as well as of healing, of caring and of sharing
at once.
Just as the body is one and has many members so it is with
Christ. (1 Cor 12:12)
We all accept and proclaim that this is what the church is
and stands for. It is the basis of our unity as Christians. Then why is it
that, all too often, certain people among us and around us (usually those
whom we consider as being unfamiliar or as strangers, as different or
perhaps disabled) are marginalized and even excluded? Wherever this happens,
even by passive omission, the church is not being what it is called to
become. The church is denying its own reality. In the church, we are called
to act differently… Disability does not affect only certain individuals, but
involves all of us together as the people of God in a broken world. It is
our world that is shattered, and each of us comprise one small, fragile, and
precious piece. We all hold the treasure of God’s life in earthen vessels
(cf. 2 Cor 4:7). Yet we hold it; and, what is more, we hold it together. In
our attitudes and actions toward one another, at all times, the guiding
principle must be the conviction that we are incomplete, we are less than
whole, without the gifts and talents of all people. We are not a full
community without one another. Responding to and fully including people with
disabilities is not an option for the churches of Christ. It is the church’s
defining characteristic.
Every child and every adult, those with disabilities and
those without disabilities alike, will bring specific and special gifts and
talents to the church. This is the challenge addressed to us all. Thus we
can truly be A Church of All and for All - a church which reflects God's
intention for humankind.
May we who are made in your image, O God, mirror your
compassion, creativity and imagination as we work to reshape our society,
our buildings, our programs, and our worship so that all may participate. In
you we are no longer alone, but united in one body. Trusting in your wisdom
and grace, we pray gratefully in Jesus' name. AMEN
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This ELMC Learning Moment is excerpted from the
World Council of Churches Central Committee’s 2003 statement of inclusion.
You may read the statement in its entirety at:
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/ccdocuments2003.nsf/index/plen-1.1-en.html
ELMC Learning Moment
June 2010
We are thankful for this instructive piece on using the practice of
"wondering" in adult religious education. This month's learning moment comes
from our commissioner, Michael Gibson, who serves as the Religious Education
Coordinator for Friends General Conference.
On Wondering with Adults
by Michael Gibson
Most
religious educators are familiar with the use of discussion questions in
adult religious education settings but might not be accustomed to
wondering
with adults.
Both are valuable tools, but sometimes one is
more appropriate than the other for a particular topic or setting.
Combining the two can add interest and depth to
a session.
Experience will help the facilitator know when
to use which tool.
Below is a set of guidelines to help explain
“wonderings” as a facilitation tool.
Some positive examples of wonderings will be
offered along with negative ones (which are not really wonderings at all).
1.
“Wonderings” (statements that begin with “I
wonder”)
are not as much about
questioning of as about
mutual wondering with.
An invitation to wonder must have integrity.
When a facilitator says "I wonder . . .," that
person must actually be wondering, not “fishing” for a particular answer,
and not using a question to vent, to express an opinion or to veil further
instruction.
Negative example: I wonder how you live into the reality that difference can
be a blessing and not just a challenge.
Positive example (true wondering): I wonder how genuine differences within
our congregation
have challenged or enriched you in recent months.
2.
A wondering is open-ended, and relevant to the purpose of the session and
the participants’ experience.
It is not a test of knowledge or comprehension
but something that moves all in the direction of entering the content and
the participants' lived experience more deeply.
The facilitator cannot anticipate the responses
to wonderings.
There is room for surprise and reflection.
Negative example: I wonder if you are aware of how many
one-time visitors we have had in the
past year.
Positive examples: I wonder what conditions help you to feel safe and
welcome when in a new
environment. [Pause for responses.]
I wonder what helps, or would
help, you to feel integrated and safe within our faith
community.
3.
When using wonderings, each response is welcomed
and affirmed as the fruit of reflection, imagination and/or personal
experience. The
facilitator assumes goodwill and sincerity unless given obvious indications
otherwise.
There are no right or wrong responses, only
sincere or insincere ones. Although some responses may seem peculiar or
off-task, each response is received with respect.
Facilitators allow themselves the possibility of
growing into greater understanding or appreciation of each response.
Contemplative
pacing tends to foster deeper wondering; silence need not be feared.
4.
The facilitator avoids guiding participants to
his or her own pre-conceived conclusions through the use of pseudo-wondering
because any manipulation can create resistance and destroy the trust needed
for open, honest sharing.
5.
The order of wonderings is important.
When a summarizing or particularly pointed
wondering comes first, it can sound like the facilitator is testing to see
whether participants got the point of a presentation.
This can stifle wondering and shut down open
sharing.
This kind of wondering can, however, work quite well
when it comes second or third in order.
Negative example:
We have heard three people this morning share
their stories about journeying
towards inclusion.
I wonder what we can conclude from their
testimony.
Positive examples: Today we have heard three people
share about their journeys toward full
inclusion in our congregation.
[first wondering:] I wonder what you most appreciate
about the
sharing you have heard.
[second wondering:]
I wonder what you have heard that feels
particularly important to you right now, either in your
own journey or in our corporate one.
[third wondering:]
I wonder what speaks to you with particular
power or grace as a member of
this community.
[fourth wondering:]
I wonder what we might do as a faith community
to be
more welcoming and inclusive.
6.
Participants often have important questions and
wonderings of their own, and it is important to make space for them.
Sometimes what participants raise might threaten
to derail even the most careful preparations of the facilitator, but because
we want to always be open to how the Spirit is working in the group and
because we genuinely care about everyone’s experience, it is important to
not be too rigid in one’s group facilitation or time management.
An unexpected wondering arising from the group
could well become the most important part of a session.
Acknowledgement: These guidelines took inspiration from
the children’s religious education work of Sonya Stewart and Jerome
Berryman.
See
Young Children and Worship
and
The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 1.
ELMC Learning Moment
May 2010
We are thankful to The Rev. David A.
Williams for the May ELMC Learning Moment which is a reflection on calling
and purpose based on his book. The Rev. Williams is the senior pastor
of the Pleasant Ridge AMEZ Church, Gastonia, N.C. and serves as the National
Director of Youth Ministries for the African Methodist Episcopal Zion
Church. He is a member of the Ecumenical Youth Ministries Staff Team
and a member of the Education and Leadership Ministries Commission.
Have you
ever pondered what God created you do?
Have you ever asked yourself why was I even created? Why was I given
my name, live in my current city, or attend a particular sandwich shop all
the time? Could all these things have something in common?
In my book, Birth it for the
Kingdom, I write personal experiences, testimonies, and nuggets of God’s
word to encourage visionaries to launch their giftedness that the world
might be blessed and that our purpose for the kingdom might be fulfilled.
There is a purpose which God has selected for you and only you to perform
and the kingdom will be enriched when you have accomplished it.
I
am sure you serve in many capacities in your local community and even within
your denomination; but do you really know the
one thing God is
depending on you to complete for his kingdom? Certainly there are many
things that you want to accomplish and, like Jonah, there are assignments
you may run from. Although there are assignments you want to ignore, it is
incredibly difficult to resist them when you understand why God created you
to be on this earth. We are here for a purpose and too often it becomes
unrecognizable, distorted, and plainly lost. When this happens, frustration
dominates our hearts; and, unfortunately, we become fruitless.
There are a
few things I want you to consider when you think about why God created you.
First, your creation was his choice. We did not choose God; he selected
us to birth life-changing ministry for the Kingdom. Kingdom assignments are
always fulfilled by ordinary but chosen vessels. When Jesus introduced his
earthly ministry, he chose twelve men to follow him. Jesus selected them
because they could contribute to the greater cause of the gospel. Whenever
God plans to do a major work in the body of Christ, he first chooses a
vessel. The appointed vessel is
God’s mouthpiece to complete and maintain his kingdom agenda. God is always
looking for willing, able people who are not ashamed to be used for his
purpose. Major work requires mature, selfless people who are ready to go
forth and complete the task at hand. There is so much work and so many
situations that need assistance that God has called you to make them happen.
Sure, he can use whomever he wants but for this reason he has called you.
The Bible constantly refers to us as “the called of God.” Each believer has
been called to some type of work to build up and enlarge the Kingdom. Paul
says,” we have been called according to the divine purpose of God.” God has
predestined and delegated specific events and activities to be carried out
by our hands even before we were in our mother’s womb.
Secondly,
you were created to be creative.
In six days God created the heavens and the earth.
God did this in six days, what can we do in a lifetime? Fourteen
years ago, a vision was nestled in my spirit to birth an additional offering
unto God called NHP Ministries. NHP stands for No Harm to Praise, and I
truly believe there is no harm to praise the Lord. Dr. George McCalep,
Ph.D., in his book, Praise the Hell
Out of Yourself (Orman, Press 2000), suggests that there is a certain
amount of praise which is necessary for every believer to remain stable and
productive. I believe people live better lives when true praise is rendered
unto God.
Praise might
get you into trouble with humans; but done right, it will never be an
offense to God. Through NHP, I
have released the creativity in me and produced an interdenominational
ministry with a strong outreach for youth and young adults. NHP has three
major divisions. There is a studio production division that produces radio
and TV broadcasts as well as commercial CDs. There is the graphic production
division, which produces websites, brochures, etc. and NHP Academy, which was added later. The
Academy is a non-profit training and development program serving young
ladies and young men between the ages of twelve to nineteen with hands-on
professional, technical, and social skills. During this program, teens gain
character development and necessary skills to help them transition from high
school to higher learning opportunities or work-based training. Currently we
have added a book publishing division which has published 10 books of four
very gifted authors.
Finally, you
were created to confirm the next generation.
Have you thought about what this world is going to look like in 2020? It
will be here sooner than you think and just thinking about it nerves my
heart. Who will be our leaders and what will they do to change the world? We
were created to be hands-on disciples that are willing to share our
resources to make our world better. Every believer is stuffed with
possibilities to enlarge the kingdom. Possibilities are created through
networking, private devotion, worship, and prayer. As leaders, we will often
see the potential in people when they have labeled themselves as
underachievers. Several misfortunate experiences can cause a person to think
that nothing favorable will happen to or through them. It absolutely blows
my mind when I think about the things that can be accomplished in such a
short time even for the person who has put their purpose on hold.
I hope your desires are stirred and made fresh in your heart. There
is a vision nestled within your spirit that must be released. Your release
date is past due, and you cannot wait a day longer to begin. Our task is to
exhort the coming trailblazers and confirm their purpose. The more we
confirm them the greater blessing they will be for the world.
Bruce
Wilkinson in his new book, You Were
Born for This: 7 Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles, suggests that
there is an urgency to deliver our purpose and to make known why we were
created. The appointed time for your vision is passing, and people need what
God has deposited in your vessel. The vision that is in you, God has not
given to anyone else. This is your vision; you must make it happen at once.
When the spies, Joshua and Caleb, returned from the Promised Land, they
released the minority report that the city was ready to be invaded and they
believed that the most significant time was at once.
I commend you, “Go up at once” and fulfill what you were created to
do!
ELMC Learning Moment April 2010
We are thankful to The Rev. Dr. Carmichael
Crutchfield, General Secretary of the Department of Christian Education
of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and ELMC Administrative
Board Member as well as member of the Committee on the Uniform Series
and the Committee on Black Congregational Ministries, for the April 2010
Learning Moment entitled: Christian Education Foundation And
Theory: Social Transformation of Loving Neighbor.
Congratulations to Carmichael on successfully defending his dissertation
for his Ph.D. on Monday, March 29th, at Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary.
Christian education in the African American church context is often limited
in the mindsets of people to teaching, learning, and schooling.
Without a doubt it includes these things, but those three aspects too
narrowly define the true essence of
Christian
education. The argument is that
the definition should include the formation and nurture of people.
Christian education is to be understood as the business of guiding
people toward Christian formation in the likeness of the
One we follow as disciples. We
are helping people find their way to loving God with all their heart, mind,
body, and strength and loving their neighbors as they love themselves.
Eugene C. Roehlkepartain speaking on the subject Christian education says
that there must be an emphasis on nurture.[1]
Anne Wimberly
says, “We need to do more to make African American Christian education
nurturing spaces.”[2]
Actually education is an aspect of nurture, but sometimes what we
label as education does not always entail nurture.
For example, when we stand in front a group of people and pour out
information for long periods of time without inviting participation we call
it education. However, often the
participants are left feeling overwhelmed and overloaded with information
and not engaged. This is often
what happens in church settings and it produces very little, if any, growth
in individuals.
The problem with education is that it often only entails imparting
information and usually in a class room environment. What is attempted
through the process of nurturing is to move people toward loving God and
loving neighbor. It is what I
believe Daniel Schipani means by “human emergence.”
It is my contention that all we do as Christian educators embodies a
ministry of helping people engender the witness of love commanded by Jesus.
The church’s purpose to love God is expressed through nurture.
It is helping people get to know God.
Nurture is a process and not a program of learning.
It is intentional in nature.
Nurture involves helping people know and love God more.
It is the priority of the church.
Jesus is the model we follow (Matthew 9:35; John 17:6-8, 14, 17, 20).
The Apostles also are models (Acts 2:42; 5:42).
Lastly, it is commanded by Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20).
It seems that God places a high priority on the training ministry of
the Church.
We find in the New Testament a number of distinct Greek words which suggest
different strategies, or programs, for the nurture of believers.
A few are mentioned below:
The first is mathetheuo which
means discipleship. This word is
referred to in Matthew 28:19-20 when Jesus commissions his followers to go
and make disciples. This is
often referred to as the great commission.
This Greek word is defined to mean follower of Jesus, and that is
part of the answer. However, the
definition must begin with student or learner.
A second New Testament Greek word found in Ephesians 4:11-16 is
katartismos which refers to
equipping. The author of
Ephesians speaks of the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor
and teachers. According to the
New Interpreters Bible commentary, these gifts are not limited to the local
church and they are for service.[3]
The purpose of the service is to equip and build up the body of Christ.
Ephesians assumes all members are part of this building process.
Everyone in the church is to be equipped for service.
A sign that equipping is complete is when there is unity in faith,
knowledge of the Son of God, maturity, measure of the full stature of
Christ. Ephesians closes by
emphasizing speaking the truth in love (agape).
We must grow in every way in him who is the head, Christ.
The essence of the equipping activity is moving the entire body of Christ to
love. This continues to be my
argument concerning Christian education.
It is the ministry that helps people to love God and love neighbor.
All members of the church are involved in this ministry; therefore,
those who have the gifts outlined in Ephesians are leaders in equipping
saints for service or ministry.
The third word is didasko which is
referred to in Matthew 28:19-20 as teaching.
Verse 20 in part reads, “and teaching them to obey everything that I
have commanded you…” Now the
disciples are given authority not only to baptize, but also to teach.
Although they have previously shared in Jesus’ authority (cf. 10:1),
prior to Easter the disciples had not been authorized to teach.
After baptizing disciples, the continuing Christian community is to
instruct them in all that Jesus has taught.
‘All’ here reflects the ‘all’ of 26:1, and it refers not only to the
Sermon on the Mount but to all of Jesus’ teaching contained in the Gospel as
well, especially the five discourses.
Nothing is said of Torah, Jesus’ teaching that fulfills the Torah
(cf. 5:17-20) is the sole content of the disciples’ teaching, as it will be
the sole criterion on the last day (7:24-27).[4]
[1] Roehlkepartain,
Eugene. The Teaching Church. Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1993, 11
[2] Wimberly, Anne
E. Streaty. “Soul
Stories. Abingdon.
Nashville,
1994, 35
[3] The New
Interpreters Bible.
Volume IX. Abingdon. Nashville.
2000, 422
ELMC Learning Moment
February 2010
We are so
thankful for this month’s learning moment. It provides opportunities for
faith formation in the family context. Our thanks go to Elise Antreassian,
Education and Leadership Ministries Commission Vice Chair and Director of
Christian Education for the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern)
Family Faith: Ten Ideas and a
Bible Study for February
“Let love be genuine…hold fast
to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another
in showing honor. Romans 12:9-10 NRSV
- Sit down
as a family and read Acts 2:42-47. It describes one of the first
Christian communities. Discuss the reading. Then decide one way you might
be more a part of your congregation.
- Read the
story of the prophet Jonah in the Bible. It’s the shortest book of
prophecy: 4 short chapters. Discuss: Why do you think Jonah was angry when
God didn’t punish the Ninevites? (Hint: We’re not as merciful as God!)
Have Swedish fish (a gummy candy) or the cheese snack Goldfish for fun.
- Skim the
front page of a newspaper together. (Haiti will continue to be
heart-wrenching news.) Then make a list of what places and people need
your prayers. Pray together. Take your prayers to church and offer them up
again next week.
- Have each
family member use cell phones or a disposable camera to take pictures of
their activities during a single day (little children will need their
parents’ or siblings’ help). Develop the pictures and mount them on a
poster entitled “A Day in the Life of the _____Family.”
- On Sunday,
February 14, donate heart-shaped cookies for your church fellowship. Prop
up a small announcement (you can make it on your computer): It‘s
Valentine’s Day! Enjoy the cookies and remember that God is love.
The_____Family.”
- As a
family, do your spiritual “math” and decide together what you will add and
subtract to become closer to God. For example, “add” a prayer and a gift
for the homeless, “subtract” an hour of TV viewing.
- Family
prayer can be powerful. At dinner tonight, make a “prayer jar.” Have
everyone write a prayer on a small piece of paper, then fold it and put it
in the jar. At family mealtimes, draw one out and pray it together. Add
prayers to the jar whenever you wish.
- Read
Matthew 25:31-40 as a family. Think of somebody in your own life who
is an example of the “least of these” – for example, someone homebound or
in the hospital – and one way you can serve that person. Pray for all
people who are sick, hungry, needy, lonely, or in prison.
- Take a
nature walk with the family. Take turns thanking God for the various parts
of creation that impress you.
- As a
family, make a list of people for whom you will pray during the month.
Devotional: Tabitha sharing her wealth to serve the poor
To
Parents:
This
story is about Tabitha, a woman devoted to serving the Lord by serving those
in need. Tabitha was a disciple, and her faithful example reminds us of the
importance of giving to the poor and also of the promise of the resurrection
to eternal life for those who faithfully answer Jesus’ call to serve.
Parents to
children: Tabitha was a disciple of Jesus. We are all called to be
Jesus’ disciples. Jesus taught us that it is when we love one another that
we will truly be known as his. (John 13:35)
Note to
Parents: This is the first story in the Bible of one of Jesus’ apostles
raising the dead.
Scripture Reading
36Now
in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is
Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.
37At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they
laid her in a room upstairs. 38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the
disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the
request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39So Peter got up and
went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All
the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing
that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40Peter put all of
them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and
said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat
up. 41He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the
saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42This became known
throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Acts 9:36-42
NRSV
Questions:
(for
children)
- The Bible
calls Tabitha a disciple. What does it mean to be a disciple?
- Can people
of all ages, children included, be good disciples of Jesus? How?
- Tabitha
did good works. What are some ‘good works’ you could do in your own home?
(for teens)
- What did
Tabitha do with her time and money?
- What are
some things God would want you to do with your time and money?
- What are
some ways you can serve God today?
(for all)
- List some
ways you can serve God by giving your time.
- List some
ways you can serve God by giving to charity.
- What are
some things your family can do together to serve the poor?
- What are
some ‘good works’ your family can do together?
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
help us to follow Tabitha’s example. Help us to do good works caring for
others so that, as we serve them, your love might fill us. Help us shine
your light to the world. Amen.
ELMC Learning Moment
November
2009
We are thankful for this month's learning moment which serves as a precursor
to the ELMC annual meeting theme (January 25-27, 2010, Nashville). Our
gratitude goes to Kirsty DePree, Coordinator of Discipleship, Reformed
Church in America and the Rev. Amy Nyland, who is a graduate of Western
Theological Seminary and currently serves as Associate Pastor at Alto
Reformed Church in Waupun, WI.
Education as Mission
“Being engaged in mission is absolutely essential to learning the gospel. ”
(Norma Cook Everist)
Norma Cook Everist promotes the idea that without action there is no
meaningful learning. In the Bible, James writes extensively about faith and
works, emphasizing that faith without works is not really faith. In the same
way, learning without mission is not really learning.
Just
like we cannot separate faith and works, we cannot separate learning from
action. “All that we do witnesses to the beliefs that we hold.” When I show
you my works, I show you my faith. Similarly, when I engage in mission, I
show you what I understand about the gospel. Jesus did not teach his
disciples simply so that they would know, He taught them so that they would
go and make more disciples, they were told to find other people to teach the
gospel to and then send those people out to do the same thing. That was His
purpose and mission for teaching and it must be ours as well.
The problem with many Christian education programs is that they set out to
teach specific bits of knowledge with little or no reference to context or
mission. What is our purpose as a church? Why are we here? What are we
hoping to do? These are the questions that need to drive the education
program’s goals and then assess those goals through mission. If our goal as
a church is to raise up disciples, then we have to look at our education
program and decide how we are going to equip the members of this church to
be those disciples. It is not enough to simply know what disciples know, we
have to be what disciples are and in so being, do what disciples do. We have
to ask ourselves important questions like, “what does a disciple do?” “How
do you know someone is a disciple?” “How do disciples behave in the
community of our congregation and in the community at large?” “What does the
Bible teach us about the reason for discipleship?” We cannot simply claim to
be disciples, we have to DO something that looks like disciples should look.
When we determine what that is, what a disciple does, then we have a goal
and a purpose for our Christian education programming.
Additionally, mission is only mission when there is passion and meaning in
the work. How do we bring about that passion and meaning in a program of
education? Is the task of education in itself mission? Everist also suggests
that the education ministry must involve the whole life of the congregation
instead of being taken out of the context of the community. Learning must
take place in a context which is relevant to the everyday life of the
learner and which is safe for that learner to participate fully. The
community must create an environment that is open to exploring the gifts and
experiences of the learners and allows everyone to engage the Word and be
engaged by the Word.
“The ministry of Christian education uses all the gifts and energy of all
the people of God.” Everyone, from preschool to seniors, has a gift to use
in ministry. The purpose of education is to discover those gifts and enable
their use in the context of a ministering community. Anything else is
contrived and potentially damaging to the learner. So then we have to decide
not only what a disciple looks like but also what a community of disciples
looks like. How does a community of disciples engage the Word of God? How
does a community of disciples engage the world?
When we establish a community which embraces the gifts of all the people and
allows for the exploration and encouragement of those gifts, provides
opportunities for learning through engagement with Christ in a meaningful
way and supports the learners in engaging their learning with the larger
community through mission we have begun to develop a Christian education
program which does indeed promote discipleship.
Rev. Amy Nyland
Quotes from: Everist, Norma Cook, The Church As Learning Community: A
Comprehensive Guide to Christian Education, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002
ELMC Learning Moment October 2009
National Council of Churches Health Task Force issues
H1N1 flu virus check list for congregations
New
York, October 15, 2009 -- The National Council of Churches
Health Task Force has issued flu prevention guidelines for
congregations that includes both standard hygiene activities
and unusual worship practices.
Members of congregations are urged to
use hand sanitizers, clean door knobs and hand rails, and
fill candy dishes with individually wrapped candies. But
during the flu season, they are also encouraged to stop
shaking hands and hugging one another during the traditional
"passing of the peace." Instead, the guidelines suggest
substituting "a simple nod of acknowledgement."
Congregations who use disposable
plastic cups for communion are well situated for evading the
H1N1 and other influenza viruses. Other congregations are
urged to suspend use of the common cup and the practice of "intinction"
-- dipping the bread into the wine -- because of their
germ-carrying potential.
Of course, pastors and parishioners
should wash their hands before anointing persons with oil or
before the "laying on of hands ritual."
Churches are also urged to post a
church plan for cancelling worship services, nursery
schools, daycare centers and senior centers during a flu
outbreak.
The NCC's check list, "H1N1 (Swine Flu)
and Seasonal Flu Best Practices for Congregations," is
posted on the Council's
Health Task Force Web page.
The list can be downloaded
here.
Citing 3 John 1:2a, "Beloved, I wish
above all things that you may prosper and be in health," the
guidelines note that "pastors and congregational leaders can
play an important role as we move more fully into the flu
season. Health officials advise extra precautions with the
prospect of both seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu virus (swine
flu) upon us."
ELMC Learning Moment September 2009
Advocating
for Children
By The Rev. Kaye S. Edwards,
Director of Family and
Children's Ministries, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Chair of
the NCC Committee on Families and Children.
“If
any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe
in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your
neck and you were thrown into the sea.” Because the gospels of Matthew and
Mark place this saying of Jesus shortly after he answers the disciples’
question about who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, I believe he is
referring to actual children. As you will remember, his answer involved
taking a child in his arms and talking about adults needing to become like
children if they expected to enter God’s realm.
This seems to me to be a
clear mandate to every church about involvement in positive and protective
relationships with children. If we are communities striving to follow Jesus,
no matter our size, location or resources, we need to be involved in some
form of children’s ministry. Not taking specific actions to protect and
care for children is the same as causing them to stumble. No exceptions.
Children are among the
most vulnerable members of the human race. They are the ONLY group in our
society who cannot advocate for themselves. No child is safe unless all of
us are part of the movement to make this world a place of safety for all
children. Therefore, it is vitally important that faithful adults step
forward to advocate for children, for their sake as well as our own.
The Light a Candle
for Children 40 Day Prayer Vigil
is one opportunity for people of faith to learn about some of the particular
problems facing today’s children; pray for children; and take specific
actions on behalf of children. This 40 day prayer vigil leads up to the
National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths, sponsored by the Children’s
Defense Fund. The 2009 Light a Candle Vigil began on Sunday, September 6
but you and your community can join at anytime. A brochure and other
information about the vigil can be downloaded
here.
“Create Change for
Children Today: Bring Hope and a Better Tomorrow,” is the title of the 2009
National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths Weekend. You will not want to
miss this year’s multi-faith Sabbaths planning manual. It is full of
worship ideas, community activities and information about advocating for
children that can be used all year long. Copies can be ordered
here.
If your community is not
yet involved in children’s advocacy work, the National Council of Churches’
Policy Statement Guide, “Children
and the Church: Vision and Goals for the 21st Century" would be a good
beginning study.
In this time of prayer for
children may we begin to free our communities of the millstone that is
keeping us from being all that God created us to be. Through educational
activities, prayer and specific actions, let us join together to advocate
for children. There can be no doubt that as advocates we will grow in our
understanding of what it means to become like children and live fully in
God’s presence.
ELMC Learning Moment August 2009
Healthcare
40 minutes for health
reform: national faith community call-in with special guest President Barack Obama
Join us Wednesday,
August 19th at 5 PM EDT
to hear from faith leaders across the country and President Barack Obama!
Click here
to RSVP
and let us know you’ll be on the call, submit a question for the speakers,
and learn more about what you can do to help pass health reform.
To
listen, dial 347-996-5501 (no passcode, long-distance charges may apply) or
log on to
faithforhealth.org
at the time of the call.
NCC Healthcare Taskforce
Visit
NCC’s healthcare website
for more information about healthcare and to download bulletin inserts and
other resources.
The National Council of
Churches, especially through its Committee on Families and Children, and the
Health Task Force, senses that our nation’s cry for dependable, affordable
health care for all people is growing in volume and strength. Like the
prophet Habakkuk, we believe we hear God’s injunction to “write the vision
plain...” In response, we are committed to work for a straightforward
approach that honors all persons and is sustainable by both individuals and
society.
►
A background paper on healthcare reform can be found
here.
►
Pastoral Letter on Healthcare and Call to Action
Read the pastoral letter from H.E. Archbishop Vicken
Aykazian, President of the National Council of Churches; the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon,
NCC General Secretary; and co-chairs of the NCC's Health Task Force.
Health Care Reform
Background
Nearly 50 million Americans
are uninsured, tens of millions more are struggling to maintain coverage,
and hundreds of thousands suffer from inadequate care. Americans have been
demanding change, sparking a broad national debate. Leaders in Washington
have been responding by negotiating with health providers and suppliers to
gain meaningful concessions and drafting legislation that would lay out a
broad new approach to health care. We are closer than ever before to a
system of care that will insure all Americans, and yet meaningful health
care reform may still slip through our fingers. Absent strong public
support, health care reform may fail to be enacted.
Raise Your Voice
for Quality Affordable Health Care
At long last, there is a window of opportunity
through which Congress can pass meaningful health care reform legislation.
The Christian community and others have advocated long and hard, and
Congress has responded by introducing legislation that reflects some of our
top priorities: covering the most impoverished, expanding affordable
coverage to the working poor, prohibiting the denial of health care coverage
based on
pre-existing
medical conditions, promoting preventative care, and through the creation of
a public insurance option, injecting real competition and choice into the
health insurance market. In the next couple of months, members of Congress
will make a historic decision: whether to vote for or against health care
reform. If a sufficient number vote yes, and current proposals becomes law,
roughly 95 percent of Americans will eventually have health insurance.
Because of the hard work of the Christian community and others, we are
closer than ever to seeing comprehensive, affordable, high-quality health
care available to all Americans. Together, we can celebrate how far we have
come.
Though a new health care
reality is close, we are still not out of the darkness. Congress has not
found an answer for how to significantly reduce health care costs – such a
change may be beyond the ability of Congress to legislate and may require
individuals and doctors to adopt a new approach to health. Though we and
legislators believe that preventative care is both medically and
economically sound, congressional budgeters’ models have such care raising
costs instead of lowering them. The reality of the high costs of the
current health care systems means that health care reform and expanding
coverage is itself expensive – but doing nothing is unsustainable. Though
detractors seek to kill momentum by pointing to the significant costs of
reform, as a larger community we need to recognize the difference between
waste in the system and meaningful investment in a healthier America.
Under current proposals, more affluent
Americans are being asked to sacrifice financially for the betterment of
all. Legislators are left with a political choice. On one hand, they can
seize this historic opportunity and enact broad reform that protects the
broadest number of Americans, but at great economic expense. Christian
teaching of love of neighbor favors this approach, but Congress might well
capitulate to a lower price tag and serve only the middle and upper classes.
Opposition comes from other interests, as
well. These opponents of health care reform – whose profits are threatened
by real reform – are spending $1.4 million a day to defeat this critical
health care legislation, or remove vital provisions within it. These voices
are telling legislators to do less; to aim for modest reform that would
cover fewer people and would, in turn, demand less from businesses,
insurers, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals.
Our theology calls us as Christians to enter
the public square and speak on behalf of the common good. Christians
believe that all human beings are infinitely valued children of God, created
in God’s image. Adequate health care, therefore, is a matter of preserving
what our gracious God has made. That is why churches and other religious
communities have established so many hospitals and other places of healing.
People of faith recognize that health care is not a privilege, reserved for
those who can afford it, but a right that should be available all.
There is another faith principle guiding our
advocacy for health care reform – a special concern for society’s most
vulnerable members. Pressure from special interests and the lack of
adequate political representation raise the probability that the poor and
sick are left out of meaningful social reform. Political pressure to reduce
the costs of health care legislation will be at the expense of those in our
society with the least economic and political might. As faithful
Christians, we are called to urge those in leadership in our nation to
fulfill their commitment to the vulnerable and sick. Unless the legislation
gives adequate attention to the most poor and sick, health care reform
legislation will not be worthy of the name.
Children are also at risk in health care
reform. After 18 months of struggle, in January an expanded Children’s
health bill was signed into law. If some of the current legislative
proposals go through without modification, it appears millions of children
would fare even worse – not better – as a result of the reform. Our
children’s health needs to be protected under any larger health care reform
measure. Studies have demonstrated that inadequate health care early in
life can create significant barriers in education, employment, and can
increase likelihood of incarceration. Health care is so determinative that
cutting support for our children’s health would be penny-wise and
pound-foolish. Together, we must stay the course until health care access
for children and adults is protected by law.
Many are urging Congress
to work at a slower rate. As a people, however, we have learned through
previous experience that justice delayed is often justice denied.
The same “go slow” tactic that was used to string
out segregation is now being applied to health care. We understand that
leaders in Congress need some time to get this bill right and to build
support. Congress needs to hear from us that while there is some
time, the sickest and the poorest cannot wait long for health care reform.
If Congress fails to act within the next few
months – and many hurdles remain to be overcome – momentum for large-scale
reform is unlikely to return for another decade. The next few months will
be critical as we begin to form consensus on health care reform. Before
reform can become realit, another Senate committee needs to draft a bill
expanding and reforming Medicare and Medicaid, and formulating tax changes
to pay for such provisions. Both the full U.S. House and Senate need to
pass legislation, then behind closed doors, negotiate the differences
between their ideas and finally send identical legislation back to each
legislative body for another full vote. At any point in this process, the
dream of whole scale health care reform may yield to the smaller achievement
of incremental change. Members of Congress need to hear from their
constituents that health care reform is urgently needed back home and that
no one can be left out.
August is a critical month for emphasizing to
representatives and senators that health care reform is a top priority for
their constituents. There is a five-week Congressional recess in
Washington, D.C., allowing members of Congress to spend time in their home
states assessing what voters want. Some members of Congress, whose vote is
needed to pass health care reform, have indicated that they can only support
such a bill after being in dialogue their constituents and being heard
themselves in the Capitol. Now is the time for real discussion. This is
the opportunity for Christians, acting out the sense of love of neighbor, to
make their views known. Faith leaders across America have launched "40 Days
for Health Reform" - a massive escalation of the faith community's effort to
press Congress to pass health insurance reform that makes quality health
care affordable for every American family. In recognition of this movement,
President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to join us on a conference
call on Wednesday, August 19, at 5:00 pm eastern. It will be a
wonderful moment to share with thousands of other people of faith who are
working towards our health care future. To RSVP for this call, and to
receive the call-in information, visit
http://faithforhealth.org/ncc.
Add your voice by
witnessing on behalf of those in need and contact members of Congress saying
that:
► Access to health care is
sacrosanct, needs to be protected under law, and should not be a privilege
you have to buy, but a right to which you are entitled.
► Fulfilling our moral commitment
requires special attention to the health care rights of children, the poor,
disabled and sick.
► While we will not tolerate waste
in our health care system, we approve spending that invests in the health
and coverage of our fellow Americans.
►
People
deserve control over their health care, and should have a choice of public
and private plans.
►
Congress
must vote yes on health care legislation that includes protections for the
vulnerable so that all may share in the blessings of liberty.
There are several
paths to being heard by your Congressional representative, but first you
need their contact information. This website,
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/officials/congress/, will help
identify your members of Congress, and by clicking their names you will be
shown the contact information for their offices. Call both your regional
office and the Washington, D.C. office to voice the principles above. Ask
if there is an in-person forum that you can attend. In addition, a link to
weekly list of town hall meetings are posted in the middle “News” box at
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/.
ELMC Learning Moment
- July 2009
By
Rosemary Graham,
Disabilities Ministries Director for the South Atlantic
Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and chair of
the NCC Committee on Disabilities.
On July 26th,
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will celebrate its
19 year anniversary. The ADA (modeled after the Civil
Rights Act of 1964) was developed to protect the rights of
54 million men, women and children with disabilities in the
U.S. to ensure equal access and opportunities. There are
five categories of the ADA:
● Title I –
Employment
● Title II –
Public Services
●
Title III – Public
Accommodations
● Title IV –
Communications
●
Title V –
Miscellaneous Provisions
The
ADA helps tear down the myths and stereotypes that society
has formed about people with disabilities – negative
attitudes of inadequacy, weakness, and uselessness. The
stigmatization towards people with disabilities was so harsh
that when Franklin D. Roosevelt (paralyzed from waist down
because of polio) became the 32nd president in
1933, he hid his disability from the public (fitting his
hips and legs with iron braces, teaching himself to walk
short distances using a cane, and leaning on confidant staff
workers when speaking to the public).
During the
formation of the ADA, some religious organizations and
schools lobbied for exemption from the ADA citing “expenses
school would incur and the concern about separation of
church and state.”1 Other religious groups,
however, supported the ADA passage and complied with some
aspects of the law. The attitude and actions of the
religious leaders who rallied against the bill alienated
themselves from the disability rights activists and called
into question the integrity of their commitment, and their
promotion of justice.2
Attitude is
still the biggest barrier people with disabilities face in
the religious and community sectors. Despite the ADA
passage in 1990, some lawmakers were able to find loopholes
for noncompliancy to the ADA by questioning “proof of
disability” and evaluation of use of medical equipment, and
the usage of terminology -- ”substantially limited” and
“severely restricts”. Based on two controversial Supreme
Court decisions, the ADA Amendments Act3 was
introduced on July 31, 2008, and signed by President Bush on
September 25, 2008 ensuring:
● Perception of
disability – prohibiting exemption of proof of disability
because of use of medication, prosthetic, and assistive
technology.
● Actual listing
of major life activities and major bodily functions rather
than leaving the phrases open to interpretation
Attitude
also remains a challenge for our churches as well. Even
when structural changes are made to church facilities, the
perception of “who sinned” remains (John 9:1-3) – from the
pulpit to the pew. Stories still emerge of families of
children and young adults with autism (and other
intellectual disabilities) being asked to leave the church
because of “disturbance” during praise and worship!
As a church body,
we cannot be insensitive and uncaring towards members
of our communions and communities who need our consistent
love and support. In Isaiah 56:7 God said…”for my house
will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
We can ensure our
churches are welcoming and supportive by:
● Acknowledging
that ministry for, with, and by people with disabilities is
needed in our communions for the “whole” family of God.
● Offering
consistent support – being “…eyes to the blind and feet…to
the lame.”4
●
Educating and
sensitizing our communion members to the needs of people
with disabilities and work together to remove barriers of
architecture, communication and attitude so that people with
disabilities can serve regardless of their limitations
●
Affirming the
spiritual gifts of people with disabilities
“Let us join
Christ in flinging wide the doors that
separate us one from another.”5
1Human
Disability and the Service of God: Reassessing Religious
Practice, Nancy Eiesland and Don E. Saliers, (page 208)
2Human
Disability and the Service of God: Reassessing Religious
Practice Nancy Eiesand and Don E. Saliers, (page 209)
3www.wikipedia.org
(Americans with Disabilities Act)
4Job
29:15
5Jubilee
Days, Opening Doors to Christ, NCPD
ELMC Learning Moment
- June 2009
How Faith Develops
Just as we grow physically, emotionally, and cognitively, so
too, do we grow in faith. One of the leading theorists in
faith development is John Westerhoff, author of Will Our
Children Have Faith? Originally released in 1976, the
book was updated and re-released in 2000 and continues to be
a valuable resource in the field.
Westerhoff describes stages or styles of faith as being like
the growth rings of a tree in that
• One
style of faith is not better or greater than another. Each
style is complete and whole in itself. Therefore, the faith
of an adult is not better or greater than that of a child.
It’s just different; it’s the right style for that person.
But our potential, and God’s will, is that we expand in our
faith, just as a tree is destined to add rings in order to
grow and mature.
• We
expand from one style to the next if the proper environment
and experiences are present.
• We move
from one style of faith to the next gradually, adding one
style at a time in an orderly process over time.
• As we
expand in faith, we do not leave one style behind to acquire
a new style but add it onto the previous one.
He
defines four distinct styles of faith. While he
assigns an approximate chronological age to each, many
people often remain in the affiliative style. Mature faith
is achieved by a minority. It is the faith of the saints.
1.
EXPERIENCED FAITH
(early childhood): During the pre-school and early
childhood years, children typically act with
experienced faith. Their actions are based on what
they experience and observe and are influenced by those
around them—the significant others in their lives— primarily
their parents, but also such people as nursery school
teachers and caregivers. The formation of trust is crucial here; it results from a warm, loving,
supportive home environment and is the basis of faith.
Westerhoff maintains, in fact, that without trust, there can
be no faith.
2.
AFFILIATIVE FAITH
(childhood): During this period, school-aged children act
with others in a community with a clear identity. Just as
earlier they learned how to belong to a family, now they
learn how to belong to a larger family—the community of
faith—their congregation or parish. There are three needs or
characteristics of this style of faith.
1. The need
to belong. People need to belong to a
community and feel that they are contributing something in
some way to the life of that community.
2. The need
for affections. Before faith becomes anything
else, it is first an emotional experience; this is the
“religion of the heart.” The community of faith provides
emotional satisfaction; it allows the person to experience
the awe, wonder, and majesty of God.
3. The need
for authority. Children need to learn the
community’s story—its traditions, history, beliefs,
rules—its way of life. The Church bases its authority on
these things; believers need to hear it and make it their
own.
-
SEARCHING FAITH
(adolescence):
Sometime
during adolescence or early adulthood, the individual may
expand into searching faith, which is also characterized by
three needs:
1. The need
to doubt. This is sometimes a difficult period
for the family or community because those in searching faith
need to doubt, criticize, and sometimes even act out against
their earlier faith. In order to move from the faith that
belongs to the community to an evolved, personal faith,
people need to ask questions. At this point “religion of the
head” becomes more important than the “religion of the
heart.”
2. The need
for experimentation. Searching faith moves
people to explore alternatives to the ways they know; to
test their own traditions by learning about others. Only
then, can they reach convictions which are truly and firmly
theirs.
3. The need
for commitment. Searching faith includes the
need to commit to persons and causes. People in searching
faith may seem fickle, jumping from one cause to another.
But this is how commitment is learned.
4. OWNED
or MATURE FAITH (if
achieved, adulthood): If the needs of searching faith have
been met, we expand into an owned or mature style of faith.
Those who reach this style want to put their faith into
personal and social action. They are willing and able to
stand up for what they believe, even against the community
that nurtured them. Persons who have taken personal
“ownership” of their faith witness in both word and deed.
This is the “religion of the will.” These people live a life
in, but not of the world. Their lives are centered in Christ
and they have spiritual health and identity.
This is our
full potential and God’s intention for every person.
Religion of the will predominates over religion of the heart
and religion of the head but it encompasses both.
How can
church and family rediscover their symbiotic relationship?
The congregation or parish nurtures the family’s
spiritual well-being through its liturgy, sacraments and
compassionate authority. Just as importantly, it provides
families with the criteria needed to weigh and evaluate the
many secular messages that come their way each day.
Only so empowered, can families join with God in the sacred task of building a world based on gospel values.
How Faith Develops
Putting Theory into Practice
1.
Where in
Westerhoff’s four styles of faith are you?
2.
The needs
of which styles of faith are met
a.
In Sunday
liturgy?
b.
At a church
picnic?
c.
At a
retreat?
d.
At a
church-sponsored “March Against Hunger”
e.
At a church
lecture series on “Early Christian Creeds”
f.
At an
ecumenical “marriage encounter” weekend
g.
In the
Pre-K Sunday School classroom
3.
List the
typical programs and activities of your congregation under
the appropriate categories below. Is the picture balanced?
4.
What can
our community do to balance its ministry by nurturing people
in all four styles of faith? Add ideas under the list you’ve
already made.
Experienced
Affiliative
Searching
Mature
ELMC Learning Moment
- May 2009
Reflections on Tradition and Change
By Michael Kinnamon
The dominant
theme throughout last year’s presidential campaign was
“change.” President Obama’s standard campaign speech talked
about the need for “fundamental change,” for “choosing the
future over the past.”
None
of this, of course, was unique to 2008. From the early days
of our nation, Americans have thought of ourselves as the
“new Adam,” as a people who are starting history fresh,
unencumbered by the old ways of Europe. The magazine
Democratic Review captured this spirit succinctly in the
early 1800s: “Our national birth was the beginning of a new
history … which separates us from the past and
connects us with the future only.”
This idea of
change, freed from tradition, has always been seductive –
and false. Surely we are shaped – as individuals, as
churches, as a nation – by the persons, ideas, and practices
that have gone before. I affirm that it is possible
for the U.S. to repent of and transform a racist past; but
it is not wise, or possible, to ignore it. And, of course,
there are many traditional things we want to preserve.
It is not
surprising, therefore, that President Obama sounded a more
balanced note in his inaugural address: “Our challenges,”
he said, “may be new. The instruments by which we meet them
may be new. But those values upon which our success depends
– hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance
and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old
… What is demanded is a return to these truths.”
This tension
between past and future, continuity and discontinuity,
tradition and change, can be felt in all of our churches,
but even more so in a council of churches which, by its very
nature, is diverse. In fact, in my ecumenical experience,
“tradition” and “change” often seem to be code words for two
distinct paradigms that often have difficulty even talking
with one another.
The most
dramatic example of this tension that I have seen in an
ecumenical gathering came at the Seventh Assembly of the
World Council of Churches, held in Canberra, Australia in
1991. The theme of the assembly was “Come, Holy Spirit –
Renew the Whole Creation,” and the two major addresses on
the theme were from Parthenios, Orthodox Patriarch of
Alexandria and All Africa, and Professor Chung Hyun Kyung, a
Korean theologian who now teaches in the U.S.
The
Patriarch’s presentation, as you would expect, made constant
reference to the doctrine of the Trinity as defined by the
early theologians and councils of the church – an indication
of the dominance of tradition in his theology. Professor
Chung, by contrast, danced her way to the stage, showing
from the beginning her indebtedness to the rituals of Korean
Shamanism – a clear departure from the way Christian
theology has been done in the past! The address itself
began with an invocation of the spirits of an eclectic
collection of martyrs, from Hagar to the students in
Tiananmen Square; and her appeal throughout was to
experience. “After many years of …infantile prayers, I know
there is no magic solution to human sinfulness and for
healing our wounds. I also know that I no longer believe in
an omnipotent, macho, warrior God who rescues all good guys
and punishes all bad guys.”1
Reactions to
her address were, to say the least, mixed! The Orthodox
were by no means the only ones who objected to Chung’s
approach, but they were the most vocal, issuing a written
response that warned against “a tendency to substitute a
‘private’ spirit, the spirit of the world, or other spirits
for the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and rests
in the Son [the traditional language of the Nicene Creed].
Our tradition,” they continue, “is rich in respect for local
and national cultures, but we find it impossible [whatever
local cultures teach] to invoke the spirits of ‘earth, air,
water and sea creatures.’”2 Such invocation, as
they see it, is fundamentally inconsistent with the historic
confession of the church.
Later in the
assembly, the staff organized a special plenary for
delegates to discuss this controversy, with Professor Chung
getting the last word. What counts as tradition, she said,
has been determined for 2000 years by western, male
theologians and bishops. Now it is our turn. Theologies
from the “third world” are the new wine that can’t be put in
your old wineskins. “Yes, we are dangerous, but it is
through such danger that the Holy Spirit can renew the
Church.”3
A
particularly perceptive commentary on the Canberra Assembly
was provided by Konrad Raiser, the WCC’s general secretary
for much of the 1990s. What the assembly revealed, wrote
Raiser in the International Review of Mission, is a
lack of clarity about the criteria for interpretation (what
we call hermeneutics) – to the point that many people are
asking if the ecumenical movement has “lost the ability to
speak with a common language.”4 Let me quote
from Raiser more extensively: “Professor Chung was guided
in her presentation by a contextual hermeneutics,
trusting that an interpretation [of the gospel] that arose
from the cultural context of Korea would evoke authentic
responses from other contexts, even though the language
would be radically different. The Orthodox reflections
affirmed a hermeneutics of tradition, accepting the
tradition of the apostolic faith as confessed in the early
church as the normative criterion for ecumenical
communication.”5
Let me put
this in my words. For the Orthodox and their allies, the
visible unity of the church will only be realized if and
when we affirm together the faith as expressed in the
historic creeds and doctrines and spiritual practices of
Christianity. After all, we don’t invent the gospel, we
receive it from our ancestors, all the way back to the
apostles. Without this tradition to rely on, we human
beings will usually tailor our claims about what it means to
be Christian to fit our culturally-shaped prejudices.
According to this group, when we say the church is
“catholic” we are saying that it transcends
particular cultures and contexts, calling us to confess a
gospel that places all cultures, all experience, under the
judgment of God.
For Chung
and her allies, the visible unity of the church is not
common confession so much as mutual recognition of those who
live in different settings or contexts. The seed of the
gospel may be the same, but the plants that grow from it
won’t look the same because they have been nourished by
different soil. This group regards tradition with
considerable suspicion, asking whose interests were served,
whose power was protected, by historic creeds and
doctrines. For them, the church is catholic not when it
transcends cultures but when it adapts itself to, or
manifests itself in, diverse local settings.
The
tradition stream emphasizes the unity of Christians across
time, and places high value on continuity – “Jesus
Christ … the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews
13:8). The context stream emphasizes the unity and
diversity of Christians across space, and places high
value on change to meet new challenges and settings. They
are, in effect, speaking different “languages,” which makes
dialogue very difficult.
Another way
to say all of this is that our churches, when they try to
speak with one another about theological issues (and what
isn’t a theological issue?), don’t agree on what counts as
evidence for the argument. It is like lawyers basing their
arguments not just on different understandings of the law
but on different legal systems. This is the 800 pound
gorilla in the room for the NCC: One church may say that it
is open to the ordination of gay and lesbian persons because
it has seen the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives
and because of what we have learned through science and
social experience in recent decades about homosexuality. To
which others respond, in effect, “So what? It isn’t
warranted by scripture [at least as they read it] and the
traditional teachings of the church.” They are talking past
one another because they are appealing to different sources
of authority.*
*A very clear example of this is provided in the churches’
responses to the famous theological text, Baptism,
Eucharist and Ministry, produced by the WCC’s Faith and
order Commission.
How can we
deal with this tension between tradition and change within
the NCC? Let me offer three brief suggestions. First, we
can try, quite simply, to raise the issue – and not only in
the Faith and Order Commission. For example, last spring I
put on the agenda of our Governing Board a discussion of the
churches’ international relationships, in large part so that
we could address together the tension within the Anglican
Communion over issues of sexuality and authority. The
Episcopal Church, as you know, has been accused by other
Anglican provinces of unwarranted change in
traditional teachings, especially regarding the sinfulness
of homosexual practice.
I was eager
to get such an issue of theological authority on the agenda
because, in my judgment, the greatest challenge to
ecumenical vitality is the loss of theological depth and
conviction that today seems to mark so many of the churches
that identify themselves as ecumenical. In the absence of
serious theological engagement, ecumenism will become simply
another arena for pursuing political agendas or another set
of agencies involved in occasional cooperation – easily
demoted on our list of ecclesiastical priorities.
Second, we
can emphasize guidelines for dialogue, ground rules for
talking to one another when it is tough to do so, hammered
out over the years in the ecumenical movement. Let me
mention two that I think would also be useful for churches
struggling with the liberal-conservative divide:
a)
Allow the
other partners in dialogue to define themselves, to describe
and witness to the faith in their own terms. This is the
Golden Rule of ecumenism: Try to understand others even as
you would be understood by them. Do not caricature your
neighbor – or, as the Bible puts it, bear false witness.
Avoid generalizations that do not do justice to the
diversity inherent in other churches. And don’t define
others by the categories of your own self-definition.
b)
Interpret
the partner and the partner’s faith and intentions in their
best (rather than their worst) light. Robert McAfee Brown
makes this point wonderfully with regard to
Protestant-Catholic dialogue when he says that, “If
Protestants want to be appraised in terms of Reinhold
Niebuhr rather than [the fundamentalist] Carl McIntire, they
must be willing to evaluate the papacy in terms of John
XXIII rather than the Borgias.”6
Third, we
can also try to go beyond such dialogue by stressing the
mutual accountability, including theological
accountability, that goes with life in a council of
churches. It will not do to remain at a superficial level
of theological pluralism, to rest content with having named
our differences through dialogue. It is time, in my
judgment, to move from such dialogue to mutual
accountability in the following three areas: a) we are
accountable to each other for the way we use and interpret
scripture; b) we are accountable to each other for our
church’s understanding of (or suspicion about) what is
called tradition; and c) we are accountable to each other
for the interpretation of reality, explicit or implicit, in
our theological teachings. The idea is to enable
conversation among those who have been talking past one
another by asking them to explain themselves to one another
– or, as 1 Peter puts it, to give an account of their hope
(1 Peter 3:15).
What makes
this particularly difficult is that most church leaders
still think of the NCC as a cooperative agency,
headquartered in New York, that does things on their
behalf. “No!” I tell them. “You haven’t joined an
organization; you have entered into a covenant with one
another!” The essence of any council of churches is the
relationship of the churches, including the sort of
accountability I have been discussing. When this is not
understood, councils become an ecumenical façade behind
which the churches remain as unecumenical as ever. But that
is the subject of another essay!
Michael
Kinnamon
General Secretary
National Council of Churches
1. Chung
Hyun Kyung, “Come, Holy Spirit – Renew the Whole Creation”
in Signs of the Spirit, pp. 38-40.
2. Reflections
of Orthodox Participants” in Signs of the Spirit, p.
281.
3. Michael
Kinnamon, “Canberra 1991: A Personal Overview and
Introduction” in Signs of the Spirit, p. 16.
4. Konrad
Raiser, “Beyond Tradition and Context” in International
Review of Mission (July/October, 1991), p. 347.
5. Raiser,
p. 349.
6. For
a fuller list of dialogue guidelines, see my book, Truth
and Community (Eerdmans/WCC, 1988), pp. 29-32.
ELMC Learning Moment
- April 2009
By Cassandra D.
Carkuff Williams, Ed.D.
When you hear the
phrase, “Christian Education,” what do you think of? When I
posed that question to my colleagues, I received the
following top 5 responses:
1) Sunday/Church
School
2) Bible study
3) Curriculum
4) Youth group
5) Vacation Bible School
Christian
discipleship began around 27 CE in ministry of Jesus as he
called people to follow him. The term, “Christian education”
is an ancient term, noted as early as 95 C.E. in the 1st
Epistle of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians. The concept
itself is as old as the faith. Most of my colleagues’
responses refer to recent phenomena, historically speaking,
and suggest a narrow arena for Christian Education.
My suspicion is
that their thinking is not unlike that of most church folk.
In my book, Learning the Way: Reclaiming Wisdom from the
Earliest Christian Communities (Alban, 2009), I define
Christian education broadly as “the ways in which Christian
identity and lifestyle are formed, nurtured, and developed.”
My expressed hope is that “whether or not we can reclaim the
terminology, we would reclaim the concept in its fullest
sense” remembering that:
. . . before
there was a religion called “Christianity,” there were
people who staked their very lives on the life, ministry,
death, resurrection, and ongoing presence of Jesus. Before
sanctuaries and belfries, before organs and offering plates,
before pew cushions and stained glass, these followers
gathered to celebrate and remember, and to learn more fully
what it means to follow Jesus. Before Sunday school and VBS,
before memory verses and flannel boards, and even
before the existence of a New Testament, there was
formation, nurture, and instruction of believers within
communities of faith.
My dream is that
we might learn from the first three generations of
Jesus-followers ways to nurture authentic faith for a world
that is in desperate need of concrete witnesses to the love
of Christ. I count it a privilege to be able to share just a
little bit of what I learned about nurturing discipleship
from my journey to the first century of the Christian faith.
I can
summarize my findings about discipleship in the primitive
Christian communities with this sentence: Christian
discipleship is a way of being, grounded in vocation,
nurtured within community, and guided by tradition. Key
discoveries I made on my journey include:
• The work of
Jesus was a prophetic ministry in which he proclaimed God’s
kingdom through stories, debate with religious leaders,
prophetic-symbolic acts, and the life he shared with his
followers.
• The call to
follow Jesus was a call to leave behind former
self-definitions and to accept restored and renewed
vocations of being human, of being in relationship with God,
of prophetic-symbolic presence, and of dominion.
• The call
presumed community among those who responded, but did not
necessarily precede community.
• The primitive
communities shared a belief in the ongoing presence of Jesus
in their midst; however that presence was actuated in a
variety of ways including in the teaching of the Jesus
tradition.
• The communities
diverged dramatically in how they lived out their beliefs
and had profoundly diverse ways of communicating the gospel
for new places and times—they used remarkably different
language and concepts to tell others about Jesus.
• The communities
shared the belief that they were the continuation of Jesus’
ministry and in their communal life became one of his
prophetic-symbolic acts as Marianne Sawicki describes it in
The Gospel in History:
The cooperative, mutually supportive spirit of the community
is presented as one of the signs and wonders which accompany
the proclamation of the gospel. The forgiveness of sins
seems to be experienced not so much as a future benefit
between individuals and God, but as a present condition
facilitating brotherly-sisterly care among the members of
the community.
I’d be
hard-pressed to identify the single most important message
from the earliest Christians for 21st century Christian
education, but if I had to, I’d name the role of the entire
life of the Christian community in forming disciples.
Without authentic Christian community, we cannot form
authentic followers of Jesus, therefore to nurture
discipleship, we need to focus all of church life on
experiencing the presence of the God who can flood us with
unfiltered grace.
Cassandra
Carkuff Williams serves National Ministries, American
Baptist Churches, USA as national coordinator, discipleship
resource development.
ELMC Learning Moment
- March 2009
Standards-Based Public Education Reform: What Does It Mean
for People of Faith?
By Jan Resseger
As people of
faith we have not traditionally been proponents of
standardization in public education. Our creation story in
Genesis celebrates each child, created in the image
of God, each child a special and sacred person:
“God
created humankind in his image, in the image of God he
created them…” —Genesis
1: 27
While most of us would agree that there
should surely be basic educational standards, we would feel
more comfortable with a philosophy of education that rejects
standardization and that honors the unique expression of God
of each child.
Prominent
educators have also agreed that the goal of education should
be to form the whole child. School superintendent, Dr. Rudy
Crew writes that public schools
should
develop four qualities of a mature and conscious contributor
to society—personal integrity, workplace literacy, civic
awareness, and academic proficiency (Only Connect, p.
33) .
Yale University child
psychiatrist and school reformer, James Comer, has insisted
that schools form children and adolescents along all of the
six normal developmental pathways: physical,
social-interactive, psychological-emotional, ethical,
linguistic, and cognitive-intellectual
(Leave No Child
Behind, p. 74).
Standardized tests measure only a
portion of the last two categories—linguistic and
cognitive-intellectual.
In a new introduction for a reprint of her famous book,
Other People’s Children, educator and author Lisa Delpit
summarizes the clash between “standards-based’ and
“whole-child” philosophies of education:
“We in education have allowed
politicians to push us to act as if the most important goal
of our work is to raise test scores. Never mind the
development of the human beings in our charge—the integrity,
the artistic expressiveness, the ingenuity, the persistence,
or the kindness of those who will inherit the earth—the
conversation in education has been reduced to a conversation
about one number… Nowhere is the result more glaring than in
urban classrooms serving low-income children of color, where
low test scores meet programmed, scripted teaching (Other
People’s Children, 2005 Edition, pp. 1-3).”
To help members of our
congregations learn about the impact of the standards
movement on public education, the NCC’s Committee on Public
Education and Literacy has been urging congregational
reading groups and social justice committees to read a 2008
book by Linda Perlstein: TESTED.
TESTED recounts the choices that the principal and
teachers in one Maryland elementary school believe the
standards-based No Child Left Behind forces upon them.
Perlstein tells the story of the entire 2005-2006 school
year she spent at Tyler Heights Elementary, a school that
serves very poor children and teeters on the brink of making
or losing the Adequate Yearly Progress rating NCLB awards to
a 'successful' school. "Bombard, bombard, bombard those
children with the kinds of questions they'll have on the
test," the principal rationalizes. "You want the students at
a level of automaticity with reading those test-like
questions."
The reader spends days stretching into months with the
third-grade teaching team. We watch them collaboratively
plan each day to the minute, and we listen as the children
yearn for more at school—to do some science, read for fun,
perform a play. Will the school raise its scores enough?
Suspense mounts until the last chapter. Then the reader must
then weigh the benefits and costs.
In an on-line study guide created
by the NCC’s Committee on Public Education and Literacy,
with help from Cassandra Williams, National Ministries,
American Baptist Churches, USA, readers are challenged to
contrast the assumptions about learning embedded by No Child
Left Behind into public schools like Tyler Heights with a
faithful understanding of the role and purpose of learning,
even learning in the secular setting of the public school.
Are children mere products to be tested, managed, and made
more uniform or is the role of the teacher and the school to
nurture, support, encourage and inspire?
The study guide created by the
NCC’s Committee on Public Education and Literacy also seeks
to help congregations support the public school teachers in
their pews: “Ask the public school educators to share
feelings they experienced while reading this book; compare
the responses of professional educators with responses of
those who do not work in schools; ask the public school
educators if they find strengths in what is happening at
Tyler Heights and what they find most troubling; invite
teachers in the group who feel comfortable to share how
their sense of vocation has been affected by the waves of
education reform that have swept across the United States.”
TESTED
is now available in paperback. The study guide created by
the NCC’s Committee on Public Education and Literacy is
available on the
NCC website.
ELMC Learning Moment - February 2009
Just as the Education and Leadership Ministries Commission
has worked to be a community grounded in prayer as
exemplified through our monthly ELMC prayer,
ELMC
also seeks to always be an intentional learning community.
Many of our program ministry committee meetings and
commission meeting include shared learning experiences. In
that same vein, we are inaugurating a new practice--the ELMC
Learning Moment--which will serve as one more way that we
can learn together from our fellow ELMC colleagues and
others. These learning moments may give a glimpse of
research or learnings from our colleagues. They may be a
book or film review, an announcement about a new resource
that has implications for faith formation, leader
development or education and advocacy or musings of other
kinds. We thank The Rev. Mary Jane Pierce Norton, Associate
General Secretary, Leadership Ministries, GBOD, The United
Methodist Church and ELMC Treasurer, for consenting to model
this new online practice for ELMC, sharing a bit from her
recent research related to brain development.
One
of my areas of interest in Brain Research. I find it
exciting because, with new techniques of imaging, we are
constantly discovering new things about the human brain. I
also find it fascinating as an educator. I recently attended
a conference - actually for school teachers and
administrators - and learned much more about the executive
function of the brain. The executive functions of the brain
happen in the frontal lobe. This is the part of the brain
that directs and controls perceptions, thoughts, actions,
and to some degree emotions. Think of this as a team of
conductors or co-conductors of a mental ability orchestra.
Through our executive functions we self regulate, we have
self awareness and self determination. This gives us our
capacity to set goals for today as well as for four years
from today. At it's highest function, this is where a deep
meditator's brain lights up. In general, the frontal lobe is
not fully hooked up until about age 24. There is rapid
growth in adolescence so there are huge differences between
a 14 year old brain and an 18 year old brain. So, many
parents and teachers must do a lot of self-regulating for
children and youth until they develop all the abilities
needed to self-direct. We develop executive capacity over
time but we don't develop everything at the same rate. We
have to model, teach, and demonstrate executive function
until people get it.
For fun, here is a short quiz. Some questions are just for
fun. Others I think lead us to ask what we might be doing
with our Sunday schools and our small group ministries. So
- take a moment and see how you do. The answers are at the
end of this note.
1. The brain of a dog weighs about 3 ounces. What is the
weight of the human brain?
2. Which kind of testing is more likely to create False
Memories and thus is more harmful than helpful in learning?
a. Short Discussion
Answers
b. Multiple Choice
c. True/False
d. Laboratory
3. True or False: Humans have 20 types of memory.
4. The traditional types of "face-reading" tests used to
measure ability to read emotions do not work with most
adolescents because:
a. They don't have an
emotional connection with the faces.
b. The clothing and
hairstyles are dated.
c. Their brains can't
yet process this type of information.
5. What kind of thought is used in making moral and
ethical decisions - emotional thought or rational thought?
Why?
6. In pre-frontal lobe thinking we have four areas of
executive control. Which of the following is NOT one of
those areas?
a. Perceptions
b. Emotions
c. Moods
d. Thoughts
e. Actions
7. True or False: The best way to foster executive
function is by helping people set goals. Why?
8. When boys hit puberty they receive about 10 jolts of
testosterone a day. Because of this we see an increase in
(select the best answer):
a. Fear
b. Mood Swings
c. Aggression
9. When girls hit puberty they have increased serotonin
and estrogen. So that results in (select the best answer):
a. Mood Swings
b. Fear
c. Aggression
10.One of the functions that happens in adolescent frontal
lobes is pseudostupidity. Define please:
Here are
the answers:
1. 3 lbs.
2 b. (We lay down neural paths that are hard to shift
because we have sifted and rejected other answers)
3. F (We actually have 40 types of memory! With learning, we
are processing to memory. No wonder it gets harder to
remember as we get older.)
4. a (Teens success in reading emotions shot up when it was
people they cared about.)
5. Emotional Thought. For me, this is particularly important
for us in the field of religious education and faith
formation. One of the findings is, 'the less emotional our
learning, the less likely it is to steer behavior later in
life. So, as we work with people of all ages regarding moral
and ethnical decisions, it is important to include
activities that shift individuals from simply a rational
consideration of, say, a teaching of Jesus, to an emotive
experience.)
6. c.
7. T. (I think this is very helpful to know. If we want
people to be able to grow as disciples, we know that
includes setting goals for practices and actions. So, it
might be interesting to look at our curriculum to see when
and where we are asking learners to set goals, then report
back on those goals.)
8.c.(Surely we know this.)
9. a (And this one as well.)
10. Pseudostupidity is the act of applying complex
strategies to a simple task. Here's an example around making
friends. An adolescent may decide in order to make friends
he or she must show up at a particular place and at
particular time dressed only in one brand of clothing. The
simple solutions (speaking to someone; joining the choir,
etc.) seem to escape them because their decision-making
paths are still being formed.
Hope you enjoyed this short little brain break! Mary Jane
Rev. MaryJane Pierce Norton, Associate General Secretary
Leadership Ministries
GBOD The United Methodist Church
1908 Grand Ave.
PO Box 340003
Nashville, TN 37203-0003
mnorton@gbod.org
www.gbod.org <http://www.gbod.org/>
"Equipping World-Changing Disciples"
Current Learning Moment
