Faith in Tough Times

If it did nothing else, last week's Diocesan Convention proved that there's nothing like scarcity to focus congregations' attention on priorities. Much of Friday's session involved grappling, in one context or another, with what it means to carry out mission at a time when no one has all the resources they would like.

Fortunately, the convention agenda had already carved out much of Friday afternoon for extended “table discussions” in which designated leaders, recorders, and time-keepers led participants through a discussion of one of Bishop Baxter's four strategic visions. This provided an important opportunity for delegates to hear what other congregations are doing and how they are managing in trying times. Walking around the room, I heard a lot of variations on, “What if we tried... ?”, and saw sympathetic nods as delegates realized that they're not alone, and other folks have grappled with problems similar to theirs.

While there was palpable fear in the comments of several members of small congregations, there was also a common recognition that the Diocese is ultimately limited by the collective resources available from the parishes. The president of the Standing Committee put it most bluntly when he paraphrased a line he is fond of using during parish stewardship campaigns, “We have all the money we need. It's just that most of it is still in your pockets.”

So, while the mood was hardly upbeat, the quality of the dialogue was some of the best to emerge in recent years, with an honest focus on “how can we do it better” issues. One can only hope that the sharing will continue in the months ahead, and that we all will realize that the problem isn't “them;” it's “us.”

I hope you'll share your thoughts about how we can all do better.

Summer Reading

As usual, Diocesan Convention was a good occasion for compiling a short list of interesting summer reading. First up, an essay by J. Robert Wright, (Professor of Ecclesiastical History at General Theological Seminary) in the June 15 edition of Time entitled “Decoding God's Changing Moods.” You can read it here.

Wright sets out to explain the seemingly contradictory emphases on tolerance and intolerance of one's enemies in both the Bible and the Koran by examining the historical circumstances in which various portions of each were written.

While that's not a new approach, Wright goes on to suggest that during periods in which leaders saw relations with other nations as a “zero-sum” game, tolerance for other religions waned. On the other hand, when leaders saw opportunities for “win-win” scenarios, where each side could gain, in international or inter-tribal relationships, then tolerance increased. It's interesting stuff, and there's more in Wright's new book, The Evolution of God, which has just been published.

Another book that makes the list is Phyllis Tickle's The Great Emergence, The: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. The author makes the case that Christianity undergoes an upheaval every 500 years or so that results in a newer, more vital religion. She postulates that such an upheaval is currently underway, aided in no small part by new communication technologies. Several folks have recommended this one to your editor, and Bishop Baxter quoted from her in his address to the convention. It's available from Amazon here.

We hope you'll find these a starting point for this summer's reading. If you have picks of your own that you'd like to add to our list, please let us know by commenting on this blog.

We'll have more on the recent convention soon.