Watching the SBC

 

It may not seem like much, but I see a glimmer of hope in the election of Ed Litton as the new President of the SBC (Southern BaptistConvention). Even though the victory was narrow (2%), it represented a defeat for the Hard Right, which many, myself included, see as an indicator of a change in the temperature of the political waters of this country.

 

Many of us, myself included, have been watching the SBC since the “conservative resurgence” of the 70s, which had a huge impact on other denominations as well as the politics of this country.

 

Indeed, there are direct parallels between what many called “the hostile takeover of the SBC” by Hard Right Conservatives and the attempted coup of the Mainline Protestant denominations – including The Episcopal Church – by the IRD (the Institute on Religion and Democracy) a political think tank aligned with far-right conservative political causes, and infused with cash from Howard Ahmanson, heir to the Home Savings and Loan fortune

Jim Naughton’s work, “Follow the Money” documents how the IRD and the AAC (American Anglican Council) along with other, similar organizations, worked in concert with Anglican bishops in Nigeria, Uganda, and Argentina, to attempt to split the U.S. Episcopal Church from the worldwide Anglican Communion.

 

So, yes, while the “culture wars” in The Episcopal Church are considered “over” as indicated by the growing numbers of women and LGBTQ people now in the House of Bishops, there are many social media platforms where Episcopalians gather to blow off steam which indicate that a surprising number of TEC members support the policies of the “Hard Right” of the administration previously in power. 

 

And, one can always depend on The Living Church to publish breathlessly apoplectic articles about all-women slates for the election of bishops. Indeed, the reaction to the presentation of an all-female slate (two of whom were African-Americans) by the search committee of the Diocese of Pittsburgh was promptly met by the nomination "from the floor" of two white, straight men. 

 

I continue watch the SBC as an indicator of which pressure points White Evangelicals, who are ostensibly Very Concerned about “religious freedom” and “the separation of church and state”, place on their elected officials at local, state, congressional and federal levels.

 

There were two “hot” issues the SBC have been dealing with (stop me if you’ve heard this before): race and the role of women, specifically, the role of CRT (Critical Race Theory) and “woke” theologies,” as well as the reported sexual abuse of women by leaders in the SBC and the mishandling of the injustices suffered by those women.

 

Critical race theory, a framework used by academics to examine structural racism, appeared to be the biggest concern among the majority of Southern Baptists, some of whom wore red stickers on theirconvention badges that read “Stop CRT” and “Beat the Biden Baptists.”

 

The Conservative Baptist Network (CBN) which was established in 2020 by Mike Stone, the man defeated by Ed Litton, hosted its own gathering prior to the election at a nearby hotel featuring speakers who lamented the direction of the country and convention, including the state of public schools, how young people are leaving churches, and “woke” ideologies.

 

But, Litton is known for his work in racial reconciliation and had been supported by leading Black members of the SBC, including Fred Luter, the first and only Black pastor to serve as president of the SBC, who nominated Litton for the position.

In the end, the convention adopted a resolution on race that did not address CRT specifically. Instead, it stated, “we reject any theory or worldview that finds the ultimate identity of human beings in ethnicity or in any other group dynamic.”

 

Sounds positively Episcopalian, doesn’t it?

 

The SBC didn’t do as well with the issue of how they have handled sexual abuse both in their churches and at the highest levels of leadership. Because churches operate independently, they have struggled to know how to prevent people who have been accused of abuse from moving to other churches.

Southern Baptists voted to “prayerfully endeavor, before God, to eliminate allincidents of sex abuse and racial discrimination among our churches.” However, those survivors of sexual abuse who were present think a smaller group of hard-right Southern Baptist leaders have retained control of power in its Executive Committee, which runs the business of the convention. They believe the decisions made Tuesday might mean nothing for survivors if Southern Baptists don’t do more to change the committee’s leadership.

They may be right. Litton, who considers himself a complementarian which generally teaches the headship of men and the submission of women, said he thinks the current Baptist statement on faith is sufficient on women’s roles in the church. (Women are generally forbidden from the lead pastor role in SBC churches.)

 

Indeed, Saddleback Church, a prominent California congregation led by bestselling author Rick Warren, is, even as I’m writing this, under scrutiny by an SBC committee to examine whether the church cancontinue in fellowship with the SBC after Saddleback recently ordained threewomen pastors.

 

Someone needs to help these SBC boys make the connection between the sexual abuse of power and the prohibition of women from the councils and courts of power in the institutional church. I fear that’s going to take a lot longer to achieve than the beginnings of racial reconciliation.

It has ever been thus since The Garden.

And then, there's this disturbing quote from the outgoing President of the SBC:

“Whenever the church gets in bed with politics, the church gets pregnant. And our offspring does not look like our Father in Heaven.” – J.D. Greear, Southern Baptist Convention President, June 15, 2021

The church as a shamed promiscuous woman. Hmm .. . . Where have we heard that before?

I have hope that George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so many other people of color who have died senseless, violent deaths will provide an avenue of redemption for the sin of racism and White Supremacy on which so many denominations of Christianity are built.

I see some of that beginning to happen in the Southern Baptist Convention.

 

Yes, it’s just a beginning. Yes, it's a fragile beginning at that. Yes, this might just place a slight pause on the White Supremacy movement which gained momentum these last four years. Yes, I’m hoping that this pause, no matter how long it lasts, will have an effect on some of the decisions made my those elected to positions of power.

 

Is there a relationship between the vote of the SBC to elect a man committed to reconciliation of race relations and the recent overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House (415-14) and the expected passage in the Senate of Juneteenth as a federal holiday? 

 

I don't know. I'd like to think there is at least some relationship between the two. 

 

As my dear friend, Mary Miller, who continues to inspire justice from her seat in heaven, used to say, “Sometimes, justice is where you find it.”

 

And, as Desmond Tutu once said, "I'm not an optimist. I am a prisoner of hope."

Mint Tea

 

I often have a cup of tea in the afternoon. It’s something my grandmother did every day, usually at around 3 pm. She would sit down in her rocking chair to relax before she started preparing supper.

On the metal folding table near her chair was a wooden tray with a pot of steaming hot tea with some biscuits (plain vanilla cookies like Nabisco Nilla Vanilla Wafers) and, sometimes, for a rare treat, a small dish of orange slices. 

 

The wooden tray also had our porcelain bone china cups into which my grandmother would place a sprig of fresh mint which she had just picked from the herb garden she grew near the kitchen window. She would place a strainer over the cup and pour the tea from the pot over the strainer to catch any tealeaves and let it steep over the springs of mint.

 

The smells of the mint mixed with smell of the oranges and the vanilla biscuits which was a delicious bit of luxury which marked the ending of one part of the day’s work and a pause between the beginning of another.

 

The smell of mint always bring me right back to my grandmother’s house, to her rocking chair and our afternoon tea. I forgot that I had some springs of mint in the refrigerator, left over from the Easter meal.  As soon as I smelled it, I knew that I had to make a pot of tea and although I didn’t have any Nilla Vanilla Wafers, I did have an orange I could slice up to have with my tea.

 

I gathered everything together on my tray and when I sat down in my chair – and, just like that – the whiffs of the mint in the tea brought me back to my childhood conversations with my grandmother. We talked about what we had accomplished during the day, what she was making for supper, and the chores she had in mind for tomorrow or the rest of the week.

 

The centerpiece of our time together, however, was for her to read a passage from her bible and then talk about the story and what it might have meant for the people who first heard it and what it might mean for us. There was usually a story my grandmother told about her life in Portugal – her mother who had died when she was 12 years old, her father and her brothers and her childhood friends - which was a reflection of the gospel story. Our time would end with prayer.   

 

Little did I know that this was a method of Bible Study I would actually learn in seminary. It was also one of the methods I learned for sermon preparation.

 

All of that came back to me this afternoon as I sipped my mint tea and enjoyed a few juicy slices of orange. It’s probably should not be a surprise that, as I read over the John’s Gospel for Sunday, I had a whole new inspiration for what I wanted to say about Jesus as The Good Shepherd. After I did the dishes, I sat down at my laptop and an entirely new sermon came together in under two hours.

I have enough mint left in my refrigerator to get through this week, but I’ve already put it on my shopping list. I want to be certain to have enough for a walk down memory lane, which, with any luck, may lead to fresh new insight and inspiration for next week’s sermon.

 

But, you know, it’s okay if it doesn’t. The memories are delightful, but the relaxation and enjoyment of fresh mint in brewed tea is its own reward.

 

 

Love In The Time of COVID: That which is essential

 

 

Earlier this evening I had the enormous privilege of presiding at a Celebration and Renewal of the 30th Anniversary of Wedding Vows.

 

It was via Zoom. And, by cell phone.

 

Let me explain.

 

The couple are Roman Catholics who left their church earlier this year. I didn't ask why and they didn't say. Actually, we just haven't had time for that conversation. Yet.

 

They have been attending an Episcopal Church where I've been helping out Here's the thing: They've never been inside the church building, proper. They were just invited to the weekly Zoom-charist by a friend who is a member of the church and serves on the vestry. They loved the experience and stayed. Or, rather, they keep clicking on the Zoom link every Sunday.

 

They didn't fall in love with the church architecture or the sound of the organ. They didn't love the choir or the beautiful stained glass windows. They have never even tasted the wonderful goodies or the excellent coffee at coffee hour.

 

They've never had a face-to-face, actual, in-person meeting with other congregation members or the previous interim priest who has left, nor I, helping out when I can, especially recently, through Advent and Christmas.

 

So, yes, I've never met them in person, but I've already provided some pastoral care and presided at a family prayer service for the husband's 84 year old mother who died in a hospital in Florida of COVID. She was, undoubtedly, the family matriarch. No family members were allowed to be present at her death.

 

That led the couple to say, "Hey, we have an anniversary coming up. We'd like to do something to mark that. Something just simple and quiet. But, maybe we could, well, maybe gather the family? Do you have any ideas about what we can we do?"

 

Do I haven any ideas? About liturgy? About gathering family and community?

 

They obviously don't know me, right? Well, they're learning.

 

Of course, I put together a service - patched together from Episcopal, Lutheran and Roman Catholic sources. It sounded familiar enough to their ears - which they loved - and yet it was unique to them.

 

Suddenly, this turned into a family affair. They invited their children and family and the original wedding party to the event. I don't know how many were actually on the Zoom call, but it seemed quite a lot.

 

Unfortunately, there was some sort of glitch in the Zoom session - the husband thought he had set up two sessions and had sent me the 'trial run' and I couldn't get onto the one with the rest of the family and friends.

 

So, not to be deterred, they called me on my cell phone and put their cell phone next to the computer. And, everyone could hear me and I could hear them. And they made such a joyful noise.

 

People cried and laughed and the couple kissed and everyone said how much they didn't know they needed this as a family after losing Grandmother last week but they were so grateful.

 

I'm just astounded by what technology allows us to do.

 

You know, this pandemic is wretched. It is evil. Of that, there is no doubt. And yet, it presents us with the best time to be Christian. We have so many tools available to us.

 

We are so advanced and yet we're learning that we still have so much more to learn.

 

Our buildings are lovely and they are important, but they are not necessary. Our faith is inspired by our beautiful music and musicians and glorious instruments, but it is strengthened by prayer in community that gathers where and how it can.

 

Death may steal some from our midst, but life has this way of going on. "Life is changed, not ended," our Prayer Book reminds us. Joy finds its way into the necessary moments of our life.

 

Even at the grave we make our song, "Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!"

 

These are uncommon, extraordinary times. So, our response is necessarily uncommon and extraordinary.

 

Love in the time of COVID is still love. Only more so.

 

In the time of COVID, the church is still the church. Only more so.

 

We're just learning that, sometimes, we're more of the church outside the building.

 

We're learning what the fox taught the Little Prince, "That which is essential is invisible to the eye."