Quote of note

“To be a superpower is to be the champion of peace, freedom, and democracy, of human rights, environmental quality, and the alleviation of suffering.”
-- President Jimmy Carter, PBS Newshour Interview, 19 Novemeber 1996.

Open thoughts

An upcoming sermon is about Christians acting with openness. Recent sermons have dealt with boldness and generosity. Below are a few "open thoughts" about openness.

Are you:

• Boldly open to new ideas?
• Open to the Holy Spirit?
• Open to constructive comments?
• Open to people not like you?
• Boldly open to a different style of worship?
• Open in a way that lets others "in" to know you better?
• Open to forgiving others?
• Open to not getting your way?
• Open to focusing on helping others -- open to generously giving of your time, talent, and money when you have more than they do?
• Open to letting others help you in your time of need?
• Open to changing your mind?
• Open to being a true servant leader?
• Open to discovering new talents? (You have to try something new to discover a new talent).
• Open to asking forgiveness when it's appropriate?

We may think we are "open" in many of the above ways, but would our friends, coworkers, and strangers agree?

Babies born helpful

Are we born helpful by nature? Could altruism bebuilt into our genes? Why do we seem to lose that focus as we age?

Digging through some old web links I had collected, I came across one to an article about research indicating that babies are naturally helpful.

Children can also be selfish, but Dr. Michael Tomasello says that we can encourage the almost reflexive behavior to help others. How? By inductive parenting -- telling children about the effect of their actions on others and stressing the logic of cooperating with others.

Don't you wish that more politicians had received good inductive parenting?

• "We may be born with an urge to help", NY Times article
• "Why We Cooperate" book synopsis, MIT Press

A penny for your searches

Yahoo! has a free service that turns your Internet searches into food for the hungry. Instead of using Google, Bing, or whatever your search engine is now, start using a GoodSearch search toolbar from Yahoo!

GoodSearch is a Yahoo-powered search engine that contributes a penny to your chosen charity -- for example, Decatur Cooperative Ministry (DCM) -- each time you use it to search the internet.

In this case, a penny truly goes a long way!

16 searches = 16 pennies = 1 pound of food from the Food Bank

In just the first week that the DCM staff started using GoodSearch, they raised $3.85. That's 24 pounds of food!

Imagine how much more could be raised if everyone that supported DCM used GoodSearch for all their searches. What if all your family and friends used it?

How to get GoodSearch

It’s easy to install the GoodSearch’s search toolbar in your Web browser:

1. Go to http://www.goodsearch.com/ .
2. Click on the "Get the GoodSearch toolbar" link.
3. Enter Decatur Cooperative Ministry (make sure it’s spelled exactly like that)
4. Select the Verify button.
   This will display “ Decatur Cooperative Ministry (Decatur, GA)” as your choice.
5. Click on "Get the GoodSearch toolbar or add us to your search box".
6. Click on the “Download Toolbar” button.
7. Close any other open browser windows or tabs.
8. Click on “Download the GoodSearch Toolbar” to accept the licensing agreement.
9. When the pop-up dialog box appears, select the “Run” button.
10. When the next security pop-up dialog appears, select the “Run” button (or save it to your hard disk, then run it from there).
11. Proceed with the installation and select the install options you want.
12. You may need to restart your browser (or your computer) to make the new toolbar appear properly.

If you use multiple web browsers, do this when you are in each of your browsers.

So, won't you give DCM a penny for your thoughts searches?

Notice

This process adds a Yahoo! search toolbar. If you don’t want an added toolbar in your web browser, do not follow the above steps.

Haiti disaster brings out best, worst in Christians

The disastrous earthquake in Haiti seems has brought out the best and worst in Christians. True compassion, grief, selfless actions, and earnest prayer have unfortunately been accompanied in some quarters by the false theology of "it's their own fault". Others try to excuse why they selfishly don't want to help God's children who are in desperate need.

Pat Robertson's recent comments appear to show that he has an angry heart fixed on vengeance rather than Christian love. He even seems to enjoy living in the ancient world mindset that did not even understand the weather or other natural happenings on God's earth. In the modern world, an attitude such as Pat Robertson's is like gangrene on the body of Christianity. The cloying stench of its rotting effect is a warning that Christians need to cure or excise this dangerous infection before it spreads to the rest of the body.

But what's the cure? How do we cut out the dangerous infection? Certainly not in a violent way. That's not the way of Jesus. And when someone's mind is so entrenched in evil darkness, mere words likely will have no effect. But God has given us prayer. And Jesus has commanded us to love and help others.

"It matters a great deal how we think about other people. ... The more we are able to keep in mind that the people around us are susceptible to grace and truth, as beings made in the image of God, the more likely we will be to treat them that way..."

... "We need to think like Jesus thinks, ... regard others as Jesus does, and to love them as He would." -- T.M. Moore, "Regarding Others: Why Do People Matter?"

Pray that Pat Robertson, his thousands of duped followers, and other dark souls like him will come out of their darkness into the light of Christ's love. Pray that they all truly "see the light". Pray for their eternal souls. Pray that God will blunt their attempts to abuse Christianity for personal and political gain. Pray that they turn from harmful to helpful words and actions.

"And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me'." - Matthew 25:40 (NRSV)

"... we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" - Acts 20:35 (NRSV)

Related links:

• Please do not listen to Pat Robertson
• Pat Robertson blasted by White House (and it also criticized Rush Limbaugh)
• Pat Robertson calls Haiti earthquake a 'Blessing in disguise'
• Slideshow of Haiti earthquake photos

A new view of "You"

Our society constantly pushes us to desire more and buy more. We spend ourselves into debt while others in the scrape by on relative crumbs of money.

The Advent Conspiracy and Rethinking Christmas sites promote increased awareness of others' needs and decreased consumption behavior by us. Pastor Dave promoted those in a recent blog posting, "Advent Resources". The related Trade as One site promotes helping others by buying Fair Trade items. Below is one of their "Trade as One" videos.

Do you have what it takes to lower your stress and decrease the commercialism of Christmas while at the same time helping others?

Tradition though a telescope

An odd thing happened while I was doing some Bible Study online ... I suddenly began thinking about the tug between "traditional" worship services and "modern" ones ... between "traditional" music and "modern" in worship. I deliberately use "modern" instead of "contemporary" or similar that currently carries more connotation baggage.

In my experience, some people (clergy and laity alike) link "traditional" worship with "authentic" worship, as if any style of worship other than what they personally prefer is false worship -- not "authentic". Some carry it even further by decrying any use in a worship service of music that's considered gospel style, inspirational, or praise. They insist that "people want" the traditional hymns and service, not the "contemporary" ones. Is that true or are they projecting their personal desires onto "facts" and perhaps even selectively touting research into the area?

Perhaps we would all do well to step back a bit, peer down through the ages and take a long, unemotional look at the work of John Wesley. Wesley was considered a rebel in his day and he didn't make the Anglican Church of England very happy at all. He was concerned not only with feeding people the gospel but in feeding their bodies as well -- a primary regard for the welfare of others. Charles Wesley created tons of new music -- the Wesleys didn't just insist on music of their "good old days" during worship.

What would Wesley think of those who today insist that we must continue singing "old" religious songs merely because they are "traditional" and sung centuries ago? Would he not applaud those who create new religious music to touch the hearts of today's people? If "modern" music and worship services offer some light to people in a world of darkness, would Wesley not consider a good thing?

Like many businesses that stagnate, some current church leaders and clergy prefer to conduct worship "like we always have". We would do well to consider the words of the famous comedian Will Rogers who said, "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

So let us move forward in worship, not backward and not standing still, doing worship "like we always have." Remember, charges were brought against John Wesley for his "unusual liturgical experiments".

Something tells me that Wesley would wholeheartedly approve of using "new" inspirational religious music and even experiments in worship in order to better reach those who so desperately need to know Jesus or to know him better.

Membership is down - give more?

No sooner had I posted about Christian Stewardship being cheapened by equating with money than I noticed (on this blog) the news item from UM Reported, "Changing demographics impacts funds".

The article has several interesting facts and figures. One negative action popped out at me, though. The GCFA governing board, in response to the decline in giving, has penned legislation that, "among other things, the legislation aims to hold leaders at all levels of the church accountable in their responsibility to promote, support and model Christian giving."

Whoa! So let me get this straight. The denomination is seeing a decline in membership and a decline in giving. The solution is to give more? It sounds like the old semi-joke about some office managers, "Management has observed that morale is low. Beatings will commence until morale improves." Maybe we are getting more concerned with funding than with meeting the spiritual needs of the least, the lost, and the last.

Perhaps if we focused our actions on them, as Luke shows us Jesus did, we'd be getting more members, who would want to contribute to the great spiritual work being done. Are we putting the cart before the horse? Are we failing to see the spiritual forest for the financial trees?

Will the real Methodists please stand up!

We say we're Methodists, yet we seem to shun Wesley's ways. We say we're United, yet we're fragmented, self-oriented both as congregations and as various groups within the denomination. We seek higher numbers of members, relegating spiritual growth to a lesser role.

So the question is ... are Methodism's problems a result of losing sight of the spiritual in pursuit of funding, programs, social contact, Sunday School based on best-seller books, and being sort of a religious country club? Are we so lost in trying to force our own interpretations of the Bible on each other that we fail to bring the lost home to Christ?

Have our Sunday Schools lost sight of the type of Bible study that Wesley's "Bible-Moths" would approve of? Scripture was the most important part of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, not just an equal quarter of the whole.

Andrew Thompson, author of the Gen-X Rising blog, says, "Let's decide: Are we Methodists or not?" He takes a good poke at churches that seem so ashamed to be United Methodists that they leave that part out of their publicized church name. Either be Methodists or don't, but don't be half-hearted Methodists, he seems to say.

Andrew suggests that it is a good and fruitful thing to follow Wesley:

• Shun religious pretension
• Practice rigorous discipleship
• Actively pursue the way of salvation
• Tirelessly carry the gospel to the lost and the poor

So ... how are you and your church doing? Are you truly Methodists?

The United Methodist Reporter site has picked up several other Gen-X Rising articles in 2007:

• Churches that matter offer true community
• Young church leaders plan grassroots event
• Giving up our right to choose for Lent
• Growing out of a 'country-club commitment'

As a side note, Gen-X Rising is now linked in the "Methodist, Other blogs" section of this blog.

Help others through Hunger Walk

You can contribute to Atlanta's Hunger Walk/Run 2007 and get a T-Shirt whether or not you actually run. The Feb-April 2007 issue of their newsletter "Food sharing" says, "Can't make it to the event? Be a Phantom Walker! Just fill out the form [donate] and mail it in and we'll mail you a t-shirt." How can you resist being a "Phantom Walker?" You don't even have to wear purple tights.

The event supports six local non-profit organizations and walkers may choose to have a portion of their funds go directly to one of the organizations:

• Atlanta Community Food Bank
• Episcopal Charities Foundation
• Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
• Lutheran Services of Georgia
• Presbyterian Answer to Hunger
• St. Vincent de Paul Society

At the Atlanta Community Food Bank site you can also learn about Atlanta's Table, Community Garden Initiative, Hunger 101, Kids in Need, Project Rescue Center, and TACK - The Atlanta Cooperative Kitchen.

You don't have to live in Atlanta to donate to these worthwhile groups.

Stewardship: Poverty and Conservation

What are Christians to do about conserving God's world in an area where people live in poverty? As Christians, we are called to help those in need. At the same time we are to be good stewards of God's earth. These two actions need not conflict, though.

The latest Nature Conservancy magazine addresses this thorny problem in " The Poverty/Conservation Equation ". The issue includes related articles, too, including "Does Conservation Matter to the Poor?" and "Is Poverty Relevant to Conservation".

Conserving God's world ... helping the poor ... are you part of the solution or part of the problem?

Pew Forum smells nice

The Pew Forum of Religion & Public Life has a lot of great links, surveys, news, ...

One tidbit:
Americans strongly favor increased government aid to the poor. According to a July 2005 poll conducted by the Pew Forum and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 69% of Americans favor providing more generous government assistance to the poor.

In praise of NGOs

Former president Bill Clinton praised non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in his April 26th speech before InterAction Annual Forum. InterAction is the American Council for Voluntary International Action. Clinton points to the rise of democracy and the Internet as main factors in the increase in NGOs and their effectiveness.

His speech also mentions Bill and Melinda Gates' work as well as that of Bono. It also relates anecdotes of Russian President Putin and others.

The former president serves as UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery and works to help areas stricken by Hurricane Katrina. His foundation promotes the fairness and opportunity for everyone and works to lower the cost of HIV/AIDS medications and tests in the developing world.

• Text of Clinton's speech
• Video of Clinton's speech

Helping the poor a major Bible issue

The Bible speaks more of poverty, helping the least of us, than it does of any other issue. Read the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, and see what other moral issues are in play as far as God in the form of Jesus sees it.

Related links

• The Economic Community - General Board of Church and Society
• Poverty - (GBCS)
• One - the campaign to make poverty history
• Wealth and Poverty - Leadership U

Care for creation, care for poor

Recently-retired climate and weather physicist John Houghton links stewardship of God's creation with care for the poor. He says that a conservative estimate suggests that there will be as many as 150 million environmental refugees by the year 2050. Houghton says that most of the people likely to be disadvantaged because of climate change live in poorer countries.

• Read the full article in Christianity Today

Mission Moments

The United Methodist "Sharing God's Gifts" site has Mission Moments for newsletters and Sunday bulletins. They have an archive too!
umcgiving.org/