Worst Christian Mouth of the Year

It is time for the 3rd annual "Worst Christian Mouth of the Year" award to (dis)honor the Christian who most hurt the cause with their dumb statements. This decision is made after examining the posts here from the whole year to see which individuals were often critiqued for their comments. The winners (or is that losers) are chosen based on a quantitative and qualitative evaluation, and sadly there were many to pick from. In April, this annual list was reported on by Youthwork, a British magazine for church youth leaders.

The 2007 winner is (drum-roll please): Rick Scarborough for his comments on the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, immigration, politicizing religion, and the HPV vaccine. Scarborough is the first to take the title twice as he also took it last year. He was also one of those in the number three spot two years ago, which was a group award for all of those who said Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment.



Hopefully, Scarborough will resolve in 2008 to either think before he speaks or just keep his mouth shut.

The runners-up are:
2. Wiley Drake
3. Tony Perkins
4. Don Hinkle
5. Bill Donohue

The 2006 list: Rick Scarborough, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Tony Perkins, Don Hinkle. The 2005 list: Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, All those who said Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment, Fred Phelps, Russell Moore.

This year's list includes some of the same individuals as they sadly have not improved. However, the individual at the top of the list in 2005, Pat Robertson, did barely drop off this list as he had a less controversial year than usual.

Friday Photo

Christmas came early this year for Poco. About a month ago she got her Doggon' Wheels that help her to walk and run around (see previous post here for background on why she needed them). She loves them! Here she is racing her best dog friend, Jackson. Hope your Christmas was also great!

Year in Review

With the end of the year comes a lot of lists reviewing the important or interesting events of the year. Recently I noted the Associated Baptist Press's list of the top Baptist stories of the year. Today, Ethics Daily reviewed its top stories of the year and named Al Gore the "Baptist of the Year." Gore will speak at next month's Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

Recently, the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations offered a list of the top ten quotations of 2007. Topping the list was my favorite: "Don't tase me, bro!" Other ones included the rambling answer by a Miss Teen USA contestant and Senator Larry Craig's claim to have a "wide stance." The New York Times has a piece exploring the new words and phrases that came into use this year. The list includes: astronaut diaper, forever stamp, gorno, truther, and wide stance. It is interesting to see how language evolves.

Come Monday I'll offer my own annual list of the "Worst Christian Mouth of the Year." This will be the third year (see 2006 results here and 2005 results here). In April, this list was reported on by Youthwork, a British magazine for church youth leaders.

Fearing Doctrinal Controversy

The Associated Baptist Press has a good article about pastor and author Rob Bell entitled "Christians shouldn’t fear controversy over doctrine." Here are a few highlights:

The young pastor rose to prominence rapidly after his Mars Hill congregation, founded in 1999, grew to more than 10,000 members in only a few years. He also has a popular video series and has written two best-selling books, "Velvet Elvis" and "Sex God."

With that success has come plenty of controversy, which Bell maintained he does not pay attention to. "I don't Google my name," he said.

... Jeff Fuson, a longtime youth minister at Crestwood, Ky., Baptist Church, who recently became pastor of a new church plant, attended Bell's lecture in Louisville. Fuson agreed that while some of what Bell teaches can be seen as "divisive," it can help believers think about their faith.

"Even if we don't agree with [Bell], he still challenges us to think and to pull some things apart and to wonder about our faith," Fuson noted. "If a person can't think about their faith, then their faith may be too brittle."

Bell had much stronger words for those who are frightened by such an approach to theology, comparing them to Pharisees.

"They're obsessed with absolutely minutiae issues surrounding, 'What words do you use to define the Bible?'" he said. "They absolutely obsess about people who, in their minds, don't use the exact proper definitive language they’ve agreed upon somewhere."

... Responding to those he has offended, Bell said he has one question: "What are you scared of?"

"If you trust somebody who died and was resurrected, you're trusting in somebody who doesn't fear death," he declared. "There are no questions that you need to be scared of. There are no new ideas that you need to be fearful of. ... There is no fear."

Amen! What we need is a willingness to be more open to dialogue with our brothers and sisters in Christ and a willingness to work together to share the love of Jesus despite our disagreements.

John Grisham Joins Celebration

The Associated Baptist Press has reported that famous author and Baptist layman John Grisham will be a speaker at next month's Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here are some highlights from the article:

Mega-author John Grisham, whose recent novels have revealed his deeply rooted Christian faith, will deliver a rare public speech at the New Baptist Covenant meeting in late January.

... The 53-year-old Grisham, a lifelong Baptist, has taught Sunday school to young couples and 4-year-olds and regularly goes with fellow church members on mission-service trips.

In announcing the addition of Grisham to the Covenant lineup Dec. 20, program co-chair Jimmy Allen described the author as "a Baptist churchman, not only in regular worship but also in active service. The subthemes of his fiction reveal his understanding of the plight of the poor, his commitment to seek justice in our criminal system, his concerns for environment, and his descriptions of the challenge to reach across the racial lines that divide us."

Allen said the Baptist layman will speak Jan. 31, during the second evening session of the pan-Baptist meeting, on the topic of "Respecting Diversity."

Grisham, a self-described "moderate Baptist" whose 21 books have sold more than 100 million copies, has said he probably wouldn't even be a novelist if weren't for a concern for social justice. As a young attorney in Mississippi, he said, he heard the testimony of a 12-year-old rape victim. He determined to write about the tragic consequences, leading to his first novel, A Time to Kill.

Since 1993, Grisham has made almost yearly mission trips with his church to Brazil. "We went down there for the purpose of constructing a church in this little town sort of in the outback," he told USA Today. "And it was such a rewarding experience that I've done it several times since."

Those experiences surface in his novel The Testament, in which the lead character, an attorney, goes to Brazil in search of a missionary who has inherited the bulk of a billionaire's fortune.

... Although intensively private about his charity work, Grisham and his wife, Renee, have set up a charitable foundation that supports mostly Christian efforts, raised $8.8 million in grants for victims of Hurricane Katrina, and built six Little League baseball fields in his hometown of Oxford, Miss.

... Grisham, the latest addition, fills a keynote slot vacated by commentator Bill Moyers, who withdrew because of a schedule conflict.

The Celebration promises to be a historic, exciting, and worthwhile gathering for worship, ministry, fellowship, and dialogue. I encourage all Baptists to be a part of this effort. In another article, the Associated Baptist Press reported the results of a survey of Baptist journalists who ranked the top Baptist stories of the year. The story chosen as the top one was that of the announcement of the Celebration.

Real Persecution

Recently I argued that some American Christians are much too quick to claim they are being persecuted. Alan Stanford, General Secretary for the North American Baptist Fellowship, has a column in the Baptist Standard that does a great job of dealing with this issue. He argues:

When Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount about persecution, it is unlikely he was thinking about the minor disagreements, slights and insults we experience in America today. John the Baptist was beheaded, and Jesus was nailed to a cross "for righteousness sake." Many in today's world face equally harsh persecution for their faith.

Stanford then mentions several cases of real persecution that Baptists in other countries have experienced. He concludes:

So, perhaps we do an injustice to our forebearers in the faith and those Christians in more than 40 nations today who face imprisonment, violent persecution and even death by casually using the word "persecution" to describe the minor slights and insults we face.

Amen! It is insulting when we in America whine about what we experience when in reality we are very blessed. It is time to count our many blessings (and name them one by one) instead of complaining. Let us also pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who experience real persecution.

Friday Photo

Christmas came early this year for Poco. About a month ago she got her Doggon' Wheels that help her to walk and run around (see previous post here for background on why she needed them). She loves them! Hope your Christmas is also great!

IMB Hiring Standard?

A few years ago many missionaries were sent home by the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board because the missionaries would not sign the Baptist Faith & Message of 2000. There was no suggestion that these missionaries were not ministering effectively or appropriately, but they were terminated nonetheless. I have since met and worked with some of those individuals and have found them to be excellent missions-focused ministers.

Now, however, the IMB has hired Dave Clippard, the man who harassed and publicly lied about my mother (for background see posts here, here, and here). Even his former employer--the Missouri Baptist Convention--finally admitted earlier this year that Clippard had lied about my mother in statements made during his executive director's speech at an MBC annual meeting and in the MBC's publication The Pathway. Even after being fired he continued to claim he did nothing wrong and lie about the case. To this date he has yet to apologize to his sister in Christ and to all the Missouri Baptists to whom he lied. And yet, the IMB has hired him. It is it very unlikely that they did not know about his problems because it was highly reported. In fact, the Associated Baptist Press recently named the MBC's internal turmoil and Clippard's firing as one of the top Baptist news stories of the year (it tied for seventh). Additionally, I knew he was being considered by them because I have received dozens of hits here on this blog from their offices as they were googling his name.

The Associated Baptist Press reported today about Clippard's hiring with an article that pointed out his previous controversial comments about Islam (see previous post here). Thus, a man who made polarizing remarks that turned people away from the Gospel message is now charged with working "to enlist Baptist churches to spread the gospel to non-Christians worldwide." So missionaries were sent home for simply not signing the BFM2000, but a man who broke Scriptural commands (including part of the big ten) is hired despite controversial remarks that could serve as a barrier to reaching some people. What is the IMB's hiring standard?

Keep Congress away from holy days

My latest column came out today in the Kansas City Star. It is entitled "Keep Congress away from holy days." The piece responds to the recent resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives affirming Christmas and Christianity. I argue that such a resolution is unnecessary and unhelpful and that I will be celebrating Christmas regardless of what Congress may say. I hope it provokes people to think about what Christmas is really all about.

Immigration Rhetoric

Some Hispanic evangelical leaders recently urged politicians and others to tone down the rhetoric concerning immigration. Derrick Harkins, pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, argued that some of the rhetoric works to "dehumanize and endanger others." He added:

The speech that is destructive and inflammatory and hateful is absolutely counterintuitive. ... Wherever we are in the spectrum of this, we do not have the right to speak in ways that marginalize.

Amen! We must be careful to avoid inflammatory rhetoric even when we are passionate about an issue. We must not allow our positions to matter more than the people we disagree with. I dealt with some problems with Christian discourse on immigration in a recent Ethics Daily column entitled "Immigration IS a Social Issue."

Jumping the Gun?

For some reason it seems that some American Christians are bent on depicting themselves as persecuted victims, even though we have incredible freedoms and opportunities that are unheard of in many parts of the world. For instance, when several churches were burned down in Alabama last year, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said the burnings were a "hate crime" against Christians. He added, "We must remember that Jesus said, 'Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you, and say every kind of evil against you falsely because of Me.'" We later learned, however, that the burnings were actually just a very stupid prank by some college students. This was not a case of Christian persecution but of human stupidity.

A similar case occurred last week with the shootings at a missions center and a church in Colorado. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council stated:

It is hard not to draw a line between the hostility that is being fomented in our culture from some in the secular media toward Christians and evangelicals in particular and the acts of violence that took place in Colorado yesterday. But I will say no more for now other than that our friends at New Life Church and YWAM are in our thoughts and prayers.

And Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition argued that the shootings proved "the fact that Christians and churches are the overwhelming target of violent hate crimes in America." And yet, we soon learned that the troubled shooter actually came from a Christian family and used to be part of the missions organization where the first shooting occurred. It was a tragic case, but hardly an example of Christian persecution sparked by the media. Instead, it was a case of a troubled young man who sadly acted because of instability and anger toward a Christian group he used to be a part of.

The remarks by Perkins led MSNBC's Keith Olbermann to declare Perkins the "worst person of the day" last Tuesday. Olbermann, in his usual overly-harsh style, labeled Perkins a "hypocritical holier-than-thou opportunistic fraud" and accused him of "trying to make political hay out of the victims' bodies." He argued that it was not the media to blame but religious leaders like Perkins. Although Olbermann's criticism is too harsh, he does rightly point out that the comments by Perkins were inaccurate and inappropriate. It is time for us to stop trying to play the role of persecuted Christians. Real persecution exists around the world so let us not minimize the struggles of our Christian brothers and sisters. And let us not exaggerate or overstate our situation by making claims before the facts are known.

Dehumanizing Language

Bene Diction Blogs On offers some excellent thoughts about the news that a member of New Life Church in Colorado Springs who was wounded in last week's shooting was escorted from the church by police yesterday. The pastor said, "We felt he was a bit volatile this morning, and we did not want any disruption to our service." He added that they hoped to contact the man this week to reach an "amicable" resolution. BDBO critiques the language that New Life's pastor used to describe the controversy, as well as the fact that they escorted the man out of church instead of providing him and other victims with counseling. Here is a highlight:

Police use dehumanizing, desensitizing para-military language to distance themselves and get their job done.

When Christians start mimicking the language, there is a major problem. That is not the language of God. That is not giving honour, worth and dignity to people created in the image and likeness of God. It is not an attitude or language a follower of Jesus Christ needs to embrace. When we do, we take our orders from state employees, we perceive people in lesser ways than we are called to in the Kingdom of God. If the church's members are willing to accept worship on police terms, perhaps looking for a new church might be in the best interests of their spiritual health and growth.

Amen! We as Christians must make sure that our language clearly communicates our love for people. We must avoid any language that dehumanizes others. This sad case adds to the tragedies that New Life has gone through, but hopefully they will better reach out in word and deed to the wounded man and others.

Book Review

I recently read a review of my book (For God's Sake, Shut Up!) that appeared in the September 2007 issue of United Methodist Messenger (newsletter of Leesburg United Methodist Church in Leesburg, Virginia). Here is an excerpt:

Don't be put off by the title--Brian Kaylor, the author, is not being sacrilegious. ... Brian Kaylor writes of picking our battles, of Christians in trouble for immature theology and the lies that develop because of it, of body language, of inappropriate and damaging criticism. With truth and humor, he gives us numerous, interesting examples to illustrate his points. ... Of the many books in our library holdings, I find this to be one of the most valuable resources in teaching us how to share our Christian beliefs.

Hopefully people in the church have decided to check it out of the church library.

Poll Results

I have closed the poll on lawsuits and put up one on the "War on Christmas." The lawsuit poll asked: "There have been many conflicts lately between various Christians that have resulted in lawsuits. What do you feel about such legal actions between Christians?" Here are the results:

Always wrong for Christians to sue Christians: 27.5%
Should be avoided if possible, but might be allowed at times: 50.7%
Only okay if suing Christian organizations, but not if suing individuals: 4.3%
Not a big deal: 17.4%

Thanks to everyone who offered their opinion. The most interesting result to me is the virtual lack of support for the third option, which is the argument used by the Missouri Baptist Convention to justify its lawsuit against five ministry organizations. They claimed it would only be unbiblical to sue individuals, although they have since also sued individuals.

Friday Photo

Here is a photo I took recently after some snow that covered the ground but left these trees with their bright fall leaves.

Debating with Dignity

Reverend Gabriel Salguero has a good post over at God's Politics that is entitled "Debating with Dignity." Here are a couple of highlights:

It happened again. A presidential candidate's debate in two languages. Just as the Democratic presidential candidates had done before, the Republicans have followed suit - a presidential candidates debate on Spanish-language channel, Univision.

... I think what is critical here in both nationally-televised debates is a healthy model of dialogue that is necessary on the national scene. This dialogue says we respect your culture and language. Allowing for your thoughts and words to be translated into another language can be a metaphor for inclusion and welcoming.

... As a person of faith, pastor, and follower of Jesus Christ, I am desirous of respectful debate and dialogue. On blogs, radio-shows, and political advertisements ideological and theological differences have often reduced some to more base temptations of demonizing the other (be they Republican, Democrat, immigrant, citizen, male or female). Frankly, this is not consistent with the gospel and a call to love our neighbor and even our enemies. Jesus even said, "Love your enemies." As a people we need to move beyond the childish temptation to dehumanize those we disagree with.

Dignity means you both speak and listen. Dignity may help us see someone who is radically different from us and call them by their name. Dignity transcends political ideologies and racial, ethnic, and geographic boundaries. Dignity is a faithful witness to a faith that says, "Por que de tal manera amo Dios al mundo (For God so loved the world....)"

Speaking in Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, German, etc. is a linguistic affirmation that God loves the world. Presidential candidates need not speak these languages but simply affirm the humanity and dignity of those who do.

Amen! He makes several good points about the importance of listening to others and showing them respect. Hopefully Christians can help set this higher standard.

Immigration IS a Social Issue

Ethics Daily ran my latest column today, which is entitled "Immigration IS a Social Issue." It critiques a recent comment by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney that immigration is an economic issue instead of a social one. In the piece I consider the implications of viewing immigration economically versus viewing it socially through discussion of three incidents involving illegal immigrants. I hope the piece sparks some thinking about this divisive but important topic.

Carter on the Celebration

Former President Jimmy Carter recently wrote a column on the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. It appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is entitled "Global divisions faced as Baptists plan to convene." Here are a few highlights:

For the first time in more than 160 years, we will have a major convocation of Baptists in America with neither our unity nor freedom threatened by differences of race, politics, geography or legalistic interpretations of the Scriptures.

On Jan. 30, as many as 20,000 Baptists are expected to gather in Atlanta for a three-day meeting. These Baptists will look for common ground under the theme "Unity in Christ" as they celebrate a New Baptist Covenant. One of the basic premises will be that the doors will be open to all Baptists who choose to share this long-awaited experience.

Our common ground will be the words of our Savior when he returned to his home town in Nazareth after his miraculous ministry had been demonstrated around the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

These words are both inspirational and a call to action as we strive to emulate, in our own individual ways, the perfect life of Jesus Christ. There is no way to avoid his emphasis on "poor," "brokenhearted," "captives," "blind" and "bruised." We pray that the "spirit of the Lord" will also be upon us.

We meet at a time when the global Christian church is numerically strong and changing rapidly, but is sadly afflicted with unnecessary divisions that sap away the strength of our collective ministry.

... In the inevitable competition with other beliefs, extant since the founding of the first Christian churches, our advantages are derived from the purity and attractiveness of Jesus' commitments: to peace, justice, humility, service, forgiveness and alleviation of the suffering of others. Our strength and effectiveness are predicated on a willingness to work harmoniously with other Christians to achieve these common goals. This will not be easy. The temptations of self-congratulation and self-exaltation are powerful, as are our inclinations to be enjoyably inspired and then lapse into relative dormancy. It is only right that we approach Atlanta with thanksgiving, high hopes and expectations but also with humility and prayers that our deliberations will be guided by the permeating spirit of Jesus Christ.

Amen! Despite what some have inaccurately claimed about Carter or the Celebration, it should be obvious from this column that both are firmly focused on Jesus and the gospel message. I hope all Baptists will make plans to attend or at least join in praying for this endeavor.

Pastoral Endorsements

As the presidential campaign heats up with just a few weeks until the Iowa caucus, more and more religious leaders are publicly endorsing candidates. I have previously noted problems with Pat Robertson's crazy endorsement of Rudy Giuliani, Wiley Drake's death threats along with his endorsement of Mike Huckabee, and the anti-Catholicism of an Iowa pastor supporting Huckabee. And yet, it seems that many local church pastors publicly declare their partisan voting intentions. Huckabee recently released a list of Iowa pastors supporting him, and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama each released lists of black ministers in South Carolina supporting their campaigns. Other candidates have also trotted out pastors who support them. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported over the weekend about ministers in Missouri--including Missouri Baptist Convention interim executive director David Tolliver--who are supporting Huckabee.

With all of those endorsements in mind, I wonder if such a trend is a positive one. My primary concern is not with politics but rather the spiritual impact such public endorsements could have. What happens when a pastor publicly supports a candidate? What kind of message does it send to people in the community--or even members of the church--who support other candidates? It would be a shame if a pastor's endorsement kept someone from visiting the church because they disagreed with the partisan decision. It might even lead to the situation where disagreeing members may misread a pastor's sermon to be subtle comments for or against a candidate. I am not suggesting that they stay out of politics. After all, I read lots of political information, vote, and have lots of political opinions (as my friends and family can attest). Even if it is mentioned as a "personal" endorsement, most people will not see it as merely personal (I have critiqued James Dobson for trying to make this distinction). Ministry can be difficult enough without adding another barrier because of one's public partisan endorsement. As I argued in my book (For God's Sake, Shut Up!), we must not give up our higher calling in order to play politics. Thus, I believe that pastors should avoid the temptation to announce their political decisions.

Open Letter

Windermere Baptist Conference Center released an open letter to Missouri Baptists urging everyone to tone down the rhetoric and work together for ministry (for some background posts on recent attacks on the life-changing ministry of Windermere, see previous posts here, here, here and here). Here are some highlights from the letter:

As the trustees of Windermere Baptist Conference Center, our duty demands we work to protect and expand the life-changing ministry of Windermere. We are surprised and hurt by the harshness of the rhetoric that has come from MBC leaders and publications. These statements have been harmful to the ministry efforts of Windermere and the overall witness of Missouri Baptists. Therefore, we are publicly urging that together we end this war of words and actions and seek to be fellow Christian's working together or side by side to do God's will (see Mark 9:38-41).

... As we documented in a January 5, 2006 press release, numerous attempts have been made to damage the life-changing ministry of Windermere, such as trying to dissuade speakers and organizations from attending, and disrupting Windermere's financing arrangements and construction.

Despite the opposition, Windermere Baptist Conference Center is wrapping up its best year ever as more people have been guests on campus. Well over 30,000 people have been guests year-to-date and about 18,000 were served this summer. We have a conservative estimate of more than 1,500 life-changing decisions made this year. That should give everyone cause to celebrate as we have watched God doing great things through this ministry. Clearly, His Spirit is alive and working at Windermere. The Windermere ministry is under the banner of Jesus Christ.

... As we enter the time of celebrating the birth of Jesus, we call upon our Baptist brothers and sisters to stop the harsh rhetoric. It is our prayer we can find a common ground where we can pray together for God's will and then join together in following that will. The life-changing ministry of Windermere is much more important than politics or who has control. The impact of this place over the years to come needs to be available for all Missouri Baptist.

We echo the recent call by Southern Baptist Convention president Dr. Frank Page in a Baptist Press column entitled "For Christ's Sake, Stop!" He argued, "Our witness is being diluted and energies expended on other activities, especially on internecine conflict." He added that media coverage of the conflicts is often read by lost people. Thus, he urged, "For Christ's sake, for the sake of the lost, stop!" Dr. Page also criticized the use of character assassination and personal attacks that have become part of discourse from Christians. We join Dr. Page in his much-needed call for civility and Christ-like treatment of others. We promise our best efforts and hope the leadership of the MBC becomes a part of this change. May God bless all of us as we seek and follow His will.

This is a plea that I hope all Missouri Baptists will heed. It is time to stop the attacks and instead focus on sharing the love of Jesus.

Everything Must Change

Recently, I read Brian McLaren's new book Everything Must Change. The subtitle of the book is Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope. It is a very good and thought-provoking book that I highly recommend. Having read some of McLaren's previous works, I was looking forward to this one. The main argument of the book is that there are various systems--security, prosperity, and equity--that he calls "suicide machines" because they are are destroying society as they get out of control. He addresses what has caused the crises related to each of the three systems, what has caused the problems, and how we can overcome them. His focus is on the fourth crisis--the spirituality crisis--that he argues "is the lynchpin or leverage point through which we can reverse the first three." That may sound kind of technical, but McLaren offers personal stories, biblical analysis, and current event facts and examples that make it fascinating and thought-provoking.

There are three aspects of this book that especially makes it worth the read. First, he takes biblical passages (such as the so-called parable of "the unjust steward" and Jesus's comment that his "kingdom is not of this world") and offers very illuminating insights that helped me to reconsider them in meaningful ways. Second, he deals with very current real-world issues and problems that Christians should be addressing (e.g., genocide in Darfur, economic injustice, and governmental spending). Finally, McLaren addresses postcolonialism, which I find refreshing. I have studied scholarship from this perspective (which seeks to address the problems of imperialism and correct the injustices of the colonial era), but it was exciting to see someone tackling such important issues from a Christian perspective. As we seek to be more global-minded Christians, there are many lessons from postcolonial work that will help us place our faith above nationality. Thus, I highly recommend you check out Everything Must Change.

Friday Photo

It seems like winter is fully upon us now. It has been bitterly cold, and yesterday we got our first snow (although I had already seen some while visiting my grandparents in Iowa over Thanksgiving).

Paper Decline

The Baptist Press had a couple of interesting pieces yesterday about the decline of Baptist state newspapers. The first article offered the following observations:

According to information published in the 2007 SBC Annual combined with data from the annual USPS periodical reporting form, state Baptist papers average issue distribution has dropped to 956,000. A decade ago (1997), the reported distribution was 1,230,243. In 1987, the papers reported 1,719,767.

... No paper appears to be exempt from the decline. Warren Buffett has described what is happening to secular newspapers as a "protracted decline."

... Bob Terry, editor of The Alabama Baptist and executive director of the Association of State Baptist Papers, does not see the decline in state papers as due totally to the dynamics of technology.

... During the SBC's Conservative Resurgence, the state papers became a battleground, Terry said, and eventually people became "fed up" with what was happening and responded by cancelling their subscriptions. Anti-state paper attitudes developed among the new convention leadership.

The second piece is a column by former Baptist state newspaper editor John Yeats. It is entitled "Baptist papers as golden retrievers." Here are a couple of his points:

During the 1980s many people viewed Baptist journalists like secular journalists looking for a Baptist Watergate. Some viewed their journalistic role as that of a convention watchdog snooping under every rock to find some story angle that tantalizes Baptist readers.

If Baptist journalists were ever the convention watchdogs, then the pit bull of the past has morphed into a golden retriever. Today's antagonism has moved to the blogsphere and the current venue of Baptist papers is more of a reflection of convention loyalty and statesmanship.

Both pieces mention the Internet as likely part of the challenge for newspapers because younger people rely more on the Internet than newspapers and because the Internet is a much quicker news medium. The rise of online Baptist news sources and blogs reporting Baptist news are definitely creating a lot of competition, are allowing more people to have a voice, and are bringing stories to light that might otherwise have been ignored. Thus, perhaps part of the problem is not just the new medium but the fact that many Baptist newspaper journalists are acting like golden retrievers.

Romney's Speech

Mitt Romney gave his anticipated speech on religion and politics today. He barely mentioned anything about Mormonism, but did profess his faith in Jesus. He also took a very different approach from that of John F. Kennedy's famous speech nearly fifty years ago (which has led some commentators to declare that Romney "is no Jack Kennedy"). Kennedy spoke to his protestant critics and took questions, while Romney spoke to his invited guests and did not take questions. Additionally, while Kennedy stressed the importance of separation of church and state, Romney only gave it lip service and dismissed some attempts to preserve true religious liberty.

It will be interesting to see if the speech will stop his dropping poll numbers. However, I wonder if it was a good idea since Richard Land, the head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, urged Romney to give the speech. Land, however, has not had too great of a record on political pronouncements this year. He claimed that Fred Thompson was a great speaker (he is not) and regularly attends church (he does not). Land also claimed that Mike Huckabee was not able to win, which is not true and is why Romney decided to give the speech now instead of later. And yet, Land was there in the audience at today's speech after being invited by Romney.

For some interesting opinions on Romney's speech, check out these pieces: former JFK aide Theodore Sorensen, Baptist Joint Committee leader Brent Walker, author Randall Balmer, and Americans United leader Barry W. Lynn.

Huckabee on Robertson

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist pastor and past president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, offered some fairly critical remarks about televangelist Pat Robertson. The remarks came after he was asked about Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani (see previous post here). Huckabee said he would rather have the endorsement of Chuck Norris (which he does). He stated:

It seems that the leaders of the past, those who have been looked to as the bell cows of the movement, are completely out of step with their own followers lately. But if you talk about the people in the rank and file, there's not any confusion at all. The people haven't abandoned their principles. It's almost like that classic cartoon where the guy runs up and says, "Did you see where everybody went? I'm their leader and I need to know who they are."

... They're thinking in terms of political expediency and not in terms of the principles that supposedly got them involved in the movement to begin with. It's kind of like if the NRA suddenly started saying, "Well, you know, guns are important, but what we really care about is global warming." Nobody would take them seriously, because they would have lost their core purpose.

Very good! He called Robertson a leader of the past who has abandoned his principles. Now if only the media would not treat Robertson as if he represents most evangelicals. In related news, Robert Parham has a good Ethics Daily column today calling on Huckabee to reconsider his decision to not speak at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

Weighing in on Civic Engagement

After Vox magazine named me as one of "30 under 30" in Columbia, I was asked to write a piece on civic engagement for the Boone County Democrat (the newsletter for the Boone County Democrats). They had apparently asked the various individuals selected by Vox in order to hear from some young people in Columbia about politics and civic responsibility. My piece (which is not online) is in the December/January issue. At first I was a little hesitant because I do not want to be seen as partisan and do not consider myself to neatly fit into either political party (something I noted in my piece). Ultimately, however, I decided I should not pass on an opportunity to address people about important issues. In my piece I urged readers not to use religion as a political weapon and not to stereotype Christians. I hope that in this highly religious political season that this message is heeded by those in both parties.

Pig-Headed

In the wake of the British teacher jailed in Sudan for allowing a teddy bear to be named "Muhammad," an American evangelist, Bill Keller, has launched a deliberately offensive attack on Islam. He filmed a video where he named a toy pig after the Muslim leader. In his very low-tech video, he provided the voice for the pig and explained why the toy pig converted from Islam to Christianity. Although I am a fan of parodies, I am afraid that this piece is problematic for a couple of reasons.

First, it is deliberately intended to enrage Muslims, which could hurt missions efforts. As I noted in my book (For God's Sake, Shut Up!), after anti-Muhammad comments by American Christians in the past, Christian missionaries in Muslim nations complained that the inflammatory remarks were hurting their efforts to share the love of Jesus. After one such comment, there were even violent riots that led to the deaths of several people. Hopefully, the video by Keller will not have that impact. When our words lead to the deaths of others, then we should have been more careful with what we said. And when our words lead to the spiritual death of others because it hurt missionary efforts, then we are responsible for keeping people from the love of Jesus. It does not matter if the message is technically right, it is not always right to say it. The Keller case is particularly troubling because he is deliberately attempting to provoke people (while the teacher in Sudan simply made a naive error). Ethics Daily has a piece on this today that points out some of Keller's past controversial statements and actions.

Second, I wonder if his video should also be offensive to Christians. After all, he suggests that a toy pig could convert to Christianity! On a more serious note, it seems that his video points out how far most Christians today have moved from the faith of those in the Old Testament. Back then, they would not even say the name of YHWH out of reverence. The Muslim treatment of the name of Muhammad is keeping with that tradition. So even though I do not agree with Islam, I wonder if we could learn from the reverent attitude of Muslims (without, of course, any violence or forcing of our faith by jailing people). Perhaps we need to recapture the reverence for God that our spiritual ancestors had. After all, we do not just say the name "God," we also sell Jesus bobble-heads and all kinds of other trinkets. How reverent can that be? Maybe before we mock Muslims for trying to honor the name of Muhammad we should take a look at our own problems.

Pulpit Plagiarism

The Associated Baptist Press has a good piece urging pastors to avoid plagiarizing their sermons. One would not expect that such a point would need to be made, but it does happen quite often (and sometimes gets exposed and causes a lot of embarrassment for the preaching plagiarizer). Here are a few highlights:

If preachers pass off other people's work as their own, they automatically limit themselves to preaching about only eight commandments. "Thou shalt not steal" and "thou shalt not bear false witness" become off-limits.

But preachers can avoid plagiarism by beginning at the right place -- giving time and attention to the biblical text before reading or listening to other people's sermons about the text, said Joel Gregory, professor of preaching at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary.

... Authentic preaching remains true to the text and true to the experience of the preacher, he added.

Years ago, Gregory asked Ray Summers, a longtime seminary professor and religion department chair at Baylor University, how he listened to sermons. Summers told him the first thing he wanted to hear was the element of testimony.

"I believe that is a hallmark of effective preaching," Gregory said, noting the importance of "truth as testimony" in preaching. "I want to know what the preacher has experienced of the truth being preached."

Naturally, that means it is "always out of bounds" for a preacher to use another speaker's first-person stories, he said.

Amen! We are to be people of the Truth and plagiarism should have no part in our sermons. It is quite unfortunate when preachers do not practice what they preach in what they preach.

Meme

Ruth Walker has an interesting piece in the Christian Science Monitor. It is entitled "Where Meme and Mimicry Meet" and talks about the various ways the word "meme" is used. She wrote:

Running across a new word isn't always quite like making a new friend. But at the very least it's like noticing that some interesting-looking new neighbors have moved into the house across the street: Hmm, what are they up to over there?

... So I'm not quite ready to declare meme a new word-friend. But it does look like an interesting new neighbor to keep an eye on.

In the piece she talks about a couple of uses of the word. Her piece should remind us to pay attention to how words are used so that we do not misread someone.