Step 3; Making a Decision

I have always had a problem with "Decision Theology." Maybe it is the fact that I have spent most of my life around "Fundies" who continually asked me if "I had decided to follow Jesus" or if I "had a personal relationship with Jesus." The problem with this theology is that after you make such a decision, the folks pushing someone to make such a decision would then set the criteria for which such a person should live. If we had made such a decision we would live by their standards, and I found that almost impossible. My argument against Decision Theology has always been that God has already decided to love us; so for us there is no decision to be made by us. I know, many of you are saying "you have to do something!" We do, we have to be receptive of God's love for us and remember what Luther said in his explanation of the Third Article of the Apostle's Creed, "I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ." Any attempt to make this belief into a human work is useless. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit, and not by any decision on my part, that I believe.

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him/Her*" is step 3 in the 12 step program of AA. In this understanding of what a decision is I am in full support. A person in the pits of addiction has no understanding of God and God's grace. A person in addiction may acknowledge the existence of God, but that same person plays the role of God. They know what is best for them, they know what is right and they will decide what is right and what is wrong and they will not listen to anyone else's opinion, especially those who are closest to them, the very people they love.

When the person in recovery decides to "turn their will and their lives over to the care of God" is not a statement of salvation, but a statement of recovery! They have broken free from their job at playing God and have come to the conclusion that Gerhard Forde made in his book Where God Meets Man, God is God and we aren't. This is a huge step in the recovery journey, maybe the most difficult. When we have accepted the fact that we are powerless we must fill that void with another power, and that power cannot be us, we are the ones who lost the control in the first place.

The God (also referred to as Higher Power in many AA circles) of our understanding is also critical. At Recovery Worship that God is the God revealed in Jesus Christ. But we also understand that for people new to Recovery Worship that might not be the case. We teach whatever Higher Power is keeping you sober is good, however, and this is important, as you continue on your spiritual journey keep your options open. This is where I see our Lutheran of the Spirit breaks in, the Spirit, working within the church, within the person, moving from an obscure Higher Power to the love that is found in Jesus Christ. They didn't decide to follow Jesus; the Holy Spirit stirred their understanding, hearing words of forgiveness not words of condemnation and the words of the Gospel, led them to believe in Jesus Christ. It works, that is why, I believe, I have done more adult baptisms at Recovery Worship than infant baptisms.

*I have changed this understanding because a large number of women at Recovery Worship struggle with the concept of a loving Father; many of whom were sexually abused by their fathers when they were young. We have been able to free our understanding of how God is revealed to us at Recovery Worship by discarding traditional "God Talk" from our worship service.

See you next week for Step 4

The Journey from Powerless to Higher Power

This summer I am doing a sermon series of the 12 steps of AA. This isn't my first time for doing this; I taught the 12 Steps three years ago when I first came to Recovery Worship. Not being in recovery myself I felt that it would be a great way to learn the steps. I not only preached on each step, I actually did each step, an interesting endeavor.

I always need to remind myself that Dr. Bob, Bill W. and the rest of the group in Akron and New York wrote the Big Book of AA and the 12 steps very early on in the program. Bill W. had only been in recovery 3 years when the project was started, most of the people who helped had only been in recovery a few months.

Step One of AA is "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable." The keyword in this step is powerless. You could, I think, have a life that is unmanageable but still be in control, to be powerless means being out of control, a life in turmoil and a life that is unmanageable. I have a hard time imagining what that must be like! However, to begin this journey of Recovery we have to admit that we are powerless over our addiction. For the alcoholic there is no such thing as the "occasional drink," one drink is too many, 1000 drinks is not enough.

Step Two of AA is "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." I will say right now that believing in a Higher Power means more than simply saying "I believe in Jesus," while that is enough for salvation, that is not enough for sobriety! I have known a lot of drunks who say they believe in Jesus, but it doesn't keep them from drinking. It was wise for Bill W. and Dr. Bob to use the term Higher Power, the drunks of their day, and ours too, had Jesus out their ears from groups like the Salvation Army and the church that tried to reform them out of fear rather than love. Step Two is that first step to a "Spiritual Awakening" that will enable the addicted person to begin the process that will lead them to Step Three. After reading the Big Book I have no doubt that the Higher Power that the writers were talking about is the God of the Old and the New Testament.

The journey from the Powerlessness of Step One to the Higher Power of Step Two is crucial to the addict, without this journey recovery will not be possible.

For those of us who are not addicts, our first step is to accept addiction as a disease and not as a moral weakness. I am still amazed at the number of clergy who tell me that addiction is not a disease that simply with the right amount of "will power" the person can kick the addiction. Philip Hansen in his book "Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired" suggests that when we hear someone make such a statement that we tell them, "The next time you suffer from diarrhea, see how well will power works for you." Amen!

The First Stop on Jesus’ Return

A few years ago I was at a county ministerial meeting held at the home of the local Missouri Synod pastor's home. His wife, who claims to be a direct descendant of C. F. W. Walther (Patriarchal Father of the MO. Synod folks), asked me an interesting question. "If Martin Luther returned from the dead today" she asked, "which branch of Lutheranism do you think he would join?"

I hate stupid questions, and this is a pretty stupid question. So I thought I would give her a pretty sarcastic response. "If Luther came back from the dead today" I said, "I don't think he would join either the Missouri Synod or the ELCA. I think he would be pretty disappointed with both of us." "You take yourself way too seriously and marginalize women. We don't take ourselves seriously enough and He would also be disappointed that we quote him way too much." Needless to say, she didn't like my response.

I often get asked the question, "If Jesus returned today where would be the first place he would go?" Well, for one I am not real sure. A couple years ago I was driving back to Cooperstown, ND from Grand Forks, on a very hot day. Ahead of me, in the middle of the highway was this gleaming white vision, as I drew closer I was able to make out a man with long hair, walking stick in hand, robe flowing in the wind and for a moment I was certain that it was Jesus. As I drove pass he offered a friendly wave, later that night He was on the news, it wasn't Jesus.

So, if Jesus did comeback this coming Sunday morning where would He go? I hear that some of the larger churches, especially the ones downtown, train their ushers on how to divert homeless people from the sanctuary without making a commotion so we can cross off those churches. I would hope that He would be welcomed at Recovery Worship; at least He would get a cup of coffee and someone would offer him a smoke. The LCMC church in town would turn him away because they would think He was gay, the Lutheran Brethren would turn him away because He isn't Norwegian, and the Baptist church would want to baptize him first. (Ok folks, I'm joking so hold the emails)

Where would Jesus go? Well, I think the first place He would go would be to a local bar. I know that He would be welcomed, someone would offer him a beer, He would feel right at home with his followers, "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me."

How have you welcomed the stranger today?

See you Sunday

Stirring the Pot

When I say "stirring the pot" I mean that I like to occasionally say things that create conversation, it isn't always important that I agree with what I have written, however, I think conversation is healthy. For those of you who follow this blog you probably got here through Facebook, one of my favorite modes of stirring the pot. I love to put links on my page that I know will create conversation, especially between me and my politically active son Allan and daughter Martha. It doesn't take much to get them stirred up.

Last week I read a link that had been posted by one of my favorite seminary professors, Dr. Susan Hedahl. Her link was to an article by Chris Hedges (http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/after_religion_fizzles_were_stuck_with_nietzsche_20100510/). In the article Hedges presents a pretty gloomy prediction for the future of religion, to be specific Christianity. I agree with much of what Hedges observes, by the way. If it was Susan's goal to "stir the pot" she was certainly successful.

In my comment I questioned some of the language that is used in churches today. A church that says it is "Welcoming" but churches seldom are. Two weeks ago while I was at Gettysburg Seminary I heard the following line of welcoming to the Communion Table. "All are welcome to Communion with us today. If you believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist and are baptized, please come forward to communion" or words to that affect. Is that really being welcoming? What, as an example, one of our Full Communion partners whose view of what happens in communion is a bit different than ours is in attendanceI, they would not feel welcome. What if I am a "seeker Christian" someone who has come to accept the teaching of Jesus but have not yet been baptized? I would have to have stayed in my pew, not feeling very welcomed. Anytime we "welcome" people but then add qualifiers (if, or, but) we are not welcoming, it only sounds like we are and that makes us feel good, but does not make someone else feel welcome.

Well my comment received some pretty harsh response from a pastor from Penn. He describes himself as an "Evangelical Catholic" which means he is a Lutheran who really would rather be a Roman Catholic. He suggested that I take a refresher course in the Lutheran Confessions. My question is simply this; does God speak to us today through the Lutheran Confession of the 16th Century? Is it healthy for the church to cling to documents written from a drastically different world view then we have today. When Martin Luther wrote his Small Catechism there were not IPod's, IPad's, Wii or X-Boxes. Most children were born into and were raised in a two parent home. The adults, and children, spent most of their day in heavy labor without the distraction of cable TV or the local Mall to get in the way of their everyday life. The church clergy was made up of men, still mostly single men, and their biggest concern seemed to be the Muslims at the gates of Vienne.

Now, before my Orthodox friends get all excited and start sending me anonymous emails, I am not saying the Lutheran Confessions should be filed away under ancient history. I would like to suggest that we read them through the eyes of the 21^st century, in light of the issues that face us in our world today. Is it really that bad if we welcome everyone to the communion table and risk the chance that an un-baptized person receives the bread and the wine? Isn't worth the risk? I think it is!

 

See you next week.

Storefront Jesus

It has been over three weeks since my last post. I took a couple weeks off for a trip back to Gettysburg Seminary for a continuing education event (which included a pilgrimage to the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, PA) a class reunion and an interesting meeting with an ELCA Bishop who is in recovery. While I was in PA Sandy called and told me that her father Dean had died, so I left for Ohio to pick up a few things, and then drove to Memphis for the funeral.

The south is an interesting place. You can't spit without hitting a church. Within a couple of blocks from my step-son's house is a large United Methodist church. Down the road is a large Presbyterian and Episcopalian church. Every strip mall (a bit of an exaggeration but not much) has a church. Tucked between mega churches, like Belleview Baptist Church that looks larger than the Fargo Dome, are small little churches with names like Full Gospel Baptist, Holy Spirit Pentecostal, El-Shadi Tabernacle, and several churches like MB Baptist or MB Pentecostal, not really sure what the MB stand for. I went to a church on Sunday where, one after the other, people stood up and proclaimed how happy they were to belong to the "true church of Jesus" I also watched a lot of local pastors on the public access TV channel make the same proclamation.

I wonder what Jesus' response would be to all of this stuff? People proclaiming to have the "truth" as least as they see it anyway, I think he would walk in and turn over a few tables; it worked in the Temple.

When I retire I am going to move to Memphis, rent some space in a strip mall and start my own church. I will put up a neon sign, "Bishop Ray's Full Recovery Tabernacle." It's my church, might as well be a Bishop. Sandy can sell fried green tomatoes and hush puppies to raise funds and during the week I will play golf. Sounds like a plan.

See you next week; it is really great to be home in Fargo!

 

Pastor Ray

Three and a Wake-Up

 

Everybody needs a little recovery sometimes so on Friday I am going into treatment, treatment in the form of a vacation. I will be heading to Gettysburg for what is billed as a "Continuing Education" event. Along the way I will stop by Luther Seminary (the seminary where the Lutherans who can't get into any other seminary go) for lunch with my good friends Alvin L and Rick F. The hour or two of laughing will go a long way to renewing my brain and heart for this job God has called me to.

Along the way, and the way home, I will stop in Ohio to visit my mom and my daughter, Cathy. In Gettysburg I will pretend to pay attention to the presenter at the lecture, reconnect with classmates (10 year class reunion) laugh some more and take a drive or two around the battlefield. Next Tuesday we will take a "Pilgrimage of Remembrance" up to Pottsville, PA and visit the Yuengling Brewery, "Americas Oldest Brewery." Rumor has it that they have had to cut back on production since the graduation of the 2000 class from LTSG but I think that is just a rumor.

This will be Sandy's and my first separate vacation. She will be heading to Memphis later in the month (after preaching at Recovery next week) to visit her Mom & Dad, Greg, Halley, Neely, Ella and the new grand-daughter, Avery. Seems she would rather do that than sit around with a bunch of pastors, can't imagine why.

I will return in two weeks, refreshed and ready to face the summer. When I return I will be starting a sermon series on the Twelve-Steps. I have not done this since my first summer at Recovery Worship; it will be interesting to see how I have changed my approach to recovery since that first summer.

In the past when I have left on vacation I could not get out of town fast enough, this time I leave with hesitation. Not that I am not looking forward to vacation, I am, and not that I don't need a break, I do. I will miss Sunday morning at Recovery Worship. I will miss the laughter, the hugs and the hand shakes. I will miss Sunny's smile and the kids crawling around on the floor during worship. I will also miss Stephanie's and Susan's chatting during my sermon.

I will also miss the adult baptisms! Three in the last three weeks, as I said in church on Sunday, I am starting to feel like a Baptist!

 

See you all when I get home.

Recovery, a Celebration of Easter Every Day

Another Easter Sunday is rapidly approaching. A funeral yesterday, it wouldn't be Holy Week without a funeral. It was my first Native American funeral, very moving and I will write about it more in the future. But today I look forward to finishing up the services for the week. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are in the can, so to speak. "Come As You Are" Saturday service, Easter Vigil and Sunday services are floating around in my brain but haven't made it to my fingertips yet. It will come, just hope it comes quickly.

As I think about Easter I am beginning to ask the question "why"? Don't we celebrate Easter every Sunday? Why don't we proclaim "Christ is risen" at the beginning of every worship service throughout the year? I do think it is important to set aside Maundy Thursday and Good Friday for special services. But Christ is the reason life is won, death has been defeated. Because of Easter we are all risen.

I know that we already celebrate Easter every Sunday, but as I prepare for this Sunday I am struck that this is nowhere more evident than at Recovery Worship.

Every Sunday at Recovery Worship we hear individual "Resurrection Stories." Stories of people's resurrection from addiction to a new life of recovery, incredible stories of living a life while dead, held in their living graves by their addiction; stories of broken families, broken relationships with children, friends, and with God. Not everyone will find their personnel resurrection from their addiction, as a friend reminds me on a regular basis, "Cemetery's are full of people who have failed to find recovery."

So this Sunday we will do the religious thing. The altar and the cross will be draped in white, banner will be hung, and everyone, for this one Sunday, will be dressed up and we will proclaim "Christ is Risen." As we proclaim Christ risen we will also remember that this one great event in the history of the world now gives us the ability to proclaim our own resurrection, a resurrection into a new life of Christ, a life of recovery from all the addiction and hardships of life. This Sunday and every Sunday we can proclaim "Christ is Risen" but we can also proclaim, "Stan is Risen," "Bill is Risen," "Joni is Risen," "Kathy is Risen"; risen to a new life in recovery, and a new life in Christ.

See you Sunday, thanks for stopping by.

Pastor Ray