Essential Summer Reading

It occurred to me this morning that some of you theology and/or econ geeks out there might find an item I’ve added to my summer reading list helpful.

It’s called “Caritas in Veritate” (translated “Charity/Love in Truth”) and it’s Pope Benedict’s recently released 3rd encyclical. Unlike Benedict’s previous two encyclicals (about Love and Hope respectively), this one targets the global economy. Although I haven’t read it yet, it’s my understanding that Benedict challenges us to view economics as a fundamentally ethical enterprise – guided as much by our moral consciences as by market forces. He says,

The economic sphere is neither ethically neutral, nor inherently inhuman and opposed to society. It is part and parcel of human activity and precisely because it is human, it must be structured and governed in an ethical manner.

In today’s world, the convergence between ethics and economics is a no-brainer . . . So although it might not qualify as “light summer reading”, I think this latest encyclical is definitely worth reading.

Click here for free access to “Caritas in Veritate”

Click here for a Time Magazine article about “Caritas in Veritate”.

Am I Missing Something?

That isn’t a hard question for those of you who know me . . . I’m probably missing a lot of things. But since I’ve been too busy to post for awhile, I thought I would get back into the swing of things with a question that is sure to incur the wrath of the zeitgeist police as well as anyone who turns to Perez Hilton as their primary news source.

When it comes to the Michael Jackson thing, am I missing something?

Before I get into it, there are a few things I have to come clean about:

1. I have never owned a Michael Jackson album.
2. I have always found Thriller (and his other songs) less than thrilling.
3. I am chronically cynical about the glitterati in general.

Now that I have those things off my chest, let me thrash around like a 21st century salmon, swimming against the currents of popular culture, and say that I think the nonstop media coverage of MJ isn’t just annoying – it’s sad. Confusing. Even disturbing.

No doubt MJ was a talented individual. When it came to singing/dancing/entertaining, everyone agrees that he was in a class of his own. Unfortunately, there is also widespread agreement about his personal life. Let’s face it: At best, the guy was bizarre. At worst, he was downright creepy.

Yet for the past week and a half, much of the MJ coverage has focused on what a great person he was. It’s almost as if he has been instantly canonized by the shadowy leaders who sit atop the organization chart of the cult of celebrity . . . And that’s the part I don’t get.

At what point did we decide TALENT compensates for CHARACTER?

For some reason, MJ has been placed on a pedestal at the winning end of a double standard. For most people, obscuring their flaws and character defects with their assorted skills and talents is not an option:

• Bernie Madoff was a financial genius . . .
• Bill Clinton was an adept politician . . .
• Jimmy Swaggart was a gifted preacher . . .

But none of their skills was enough for us to overlook their character failings and flaws. It works the same for you and me. No matter how talented you are, your legacy will largely be built on the content of your personal character . . . And that’s how it should be.

Not everyone agrees with me. Someone – maybe more than one – will undoubtedly find it necessary to defend MJ’s honor with a scathing response to my assertion that popular culture has gone completely loco in its remembrance of him.

But before you go there, just ask yourself about the standard against which you want the world to remember you by: Your moonwalking skills or your character . . . And then do your best to live accordingly.

Jon & Kate + 8 . . . . -1?

I know, I know . . . It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted. Although it’s not really an excuse, things have been hectic lately. I thought the pace of life was supposed to wind down a little bit as summer approaches, but apparently not this year.

For months, my kids have begged me (unsuccessfully) to watch the show, “Jon & Kate Plus 8″.  They love the show and since TLC was showing a Jon & Kate marathon over Memorial Day, the quirky couple and their eight kids dominated our TV for the better part of the weekend.

I knew the gist of the show before I watched my first episode. It’s a reality show about Jon & Kate Gosselin, their twin girls, and their now five year-old sextuplets – eight kids total. Recently Jon & Kate have been the talk of the tabloids. Jon cheated on Kate with a younger woman (allegedly) and Kate cheated on Jon with her bodyguard (supposedly), throwing the whole fam damily in turmoil.

As you might expect, with eight little kids running around the Gosselins are not your typical family. But after a few episodes, you get the picture that Jon & Kate don’t exactly have a typical relationship, either. He checks out a lot and she lives up to her reputation as a bossy nag. The surprising part is that neither of them tries to hide their shortcomings from the cameras. In fact, they both seem to flaunt their shortcomings — as if each of them is trying to convince the viewers that they are the normal one in the relationship and the other one is a total freak . . . Not a great way to nurture a healthy marriage.

On last night’s episode, both Jon & Kate alluded to the idea that the big “D” might be looming on the Gosselin family horizon. Jon says he wants his old life back while Kate is focused on feeding the “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ corporate machine. They say that they have very quickly become two different people, living two entirely different lives.

And that’s the part I don’t get . . . Whether you have eight kids or one kid, shouldn’t your personal goals & priorities take a back seat to the needs of the people you love? Someone with a higher pay grade than me once said that the greatest love happens when we are willing to lay down our lives (plans/goals/personal interests) for the people we love. For Jon & Kate, that means it’s time to set aside their distractions and start the process of rebuilding their relationship from scratch.

End the show (Kate) . . . stop living in the past (Jon) . . . and remember why the two of you got together in the first place.

I understand that relationships can be complicated and the last thing I want to do is put condemnation on anyone who is experiencing/has experienced a relationship meltdown. God knows it will be a long time before I get a gold star for being a perfect husband/father. But I think Jon & Kate give us all a reason to think about the nature of love and remember the things that are really important in life.

So for the time being, it appears that the Gosselins are preparing to cut and run on the marriage. They both say they love their kids and nothing else matters as long as their kids are healthy, happy and secure. But the truth is that their kids will probably be healthiest, happiest and most secure if Jon & Kate find a way to keep it together. They can’t have it both ways.

Sure, they’re reality TV stars . . . But that doesn’t mean they’re living in reality, does it?

Coffee & Beignets

As a lot of you know, I spent most of last week in New Orleans.

It was my second trip to New Orleans. The first time I was there for a grand total of 20 hours, scouting locations to send a team to help rebuild from Hurricane Katrina. Needless to say, my first visit wasn’t the typical New Orleans experience.

But this time was different. My sole reason for visiting was to eat, soak in the sights and then eat some more. If you’ve never been, let’s just say it’s a good idea to pack your “fat pants”.

One of the places we ate was the historic Cafe du Monde. Located at the corner of the French Market and Jackson Square Park, Cafe du Monde has been in business since 1862. They’re open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and according to their website, they only close on Christmas Day and days when “the occasional hurricane passes too close to New Orleans.”

The interesting thing about Cafe du Monde is that they have packed the place out for a century and a half with just two items on the menu: Coffee and these tasty little pastries called “beignets“. Apparently, the one thing they do better than anyone else and they’re sticking with it.

I have to confess that I’m more than a little jealous of the folks at Cafe du Monde. The ability to focus on just one thing and do it well is a luxury most of us can’t afford these days. Instead we’re pulled in a thousand different directions doing tasks that we may – or may not – be equipped to do.

Jacks-of-all-trades . . . Masters-of-none.

Sometimes I fantasize about spending the rest of my life doing just one thing. I know it’s not realistic, especially given my vocation. These days, pastors wear more hats than a quick-change artist in a costume store.

So for the time being, I guess I’ll just learn to be content doing a lot of different things as best as I can . . . and dreaming about coffee and beignets, of course.

Time Warner backs down . . . For now.

A quick update to last week’s post about Time Warner’s proposed tiered pricing structure . . . Time Warner has scrapped its plans to charge internet customers based on usage. But don’t get too excited. Apparently the company doesn’t see anything wrong with its plan, just the way they rolled it out to the public.

Indications are that for the time being, the company will focus on “educating” consumers and reintroduce its tiered pricing plan at a later date. I guess they just don’t get it — it’s not about educating consumers, it’s about equitable access.

Click here for the full story in the Rochester D&C.

Pirates of Purpose

Over the weekend, much of America’s attention was fixed on the saga of the Maersk Alabama, Capt. Richard Phillips and a small band of modern-day pirates off the coast of Somalia.

Before the Maersk Alabama  hit the news cycle, most Americans probably didn’t know how common piracy has become in certain parts of the world. Faced with the choice of either catching fish or looting foreign vessels, indigenous laborers are increasingly deciding to hoist the Jolly Roger and take their chances on the high seas . . . Or at least the coastal waters around Somalia, Indonesia and parts of South America.

The Maersk Alabama’s story had a great ending – I can’t imagine how exilharating it must have been for Capt. Phillips’ family to hear the news at midday on Easter Sunday. But not all modern-day pirate encounters turn out so well . . .

Take for example the French sailing vessel, the Tanit. The Tanit is a cruising sailboat that belongs to Florent Lemacon, his wife Chloe and their 3 year-old son. The family was living their dream of sailing to exotic ports around the world. A little over a week ago, the Tanit was taken by pirates in the Indian Ocean, and the Lemacons were held for ransom. After negotiating with the pirates for days, the French government launched a rescue mission during which the father, Florent, was shot and killed.

The Lemacons were reportedly heading for Zanibar, an island about 100 miles from Dar es Salaam, when their ship was hijacked. They had been warned multiple times to avoid this stretch of ocean because the pirate threat was simply too great. I’ve been to Dar es Salaam several times and stayed in a hotel just a few blocks away from the port. The hotel’s staff goes to great lengths to ensure that guests don’t go near the harbor after dark. Why? In a word – PIRATES. Semi-organized groups of bandits that troll the port, assault foreigners and lift cargo off docked ships . . . And that’s in the harbor. The threat at sea is ten times worse.

But the Lemacons refused to change their plans. On the Tanit ’s website, the mother is quoted as saying,

“The pirates can’t destroy our dream.”

Some people might admire the Lemacons’ determination. Others might view it as reckless, even selfish given the fact that they had a 3 year-old child onboard. But their story is a reminder that dreams are inherently risky ventures. At some point, we all have to ask ourselves how far we’re willing to go and how much we’re willing to risk for the sake of our dreams and goals.

I doubt any of us will ever have to face a leaky skiff full of well-armed Somali fisherman. But we will have to face personal pirates – people, developments and circumstances intent on derailing God’s plans and purposes for our lives.  What happens next is entirely up to you . . .

Happy Holy Week

As you can imagine, this is one of those weeks when things are a little busy for pastors . . . Kind of the ministry equivalent of an accountant’s tax season. So although I won’t be blogging again until Monday, I just want to wish you a “Happy Holy Week” and encourage you to make the most out of the next few days:

• If you’re in Rochester and you’re looking for a church, stop by New Covenant for our Good Friday service (7 PM) and our Easter service (Sunday 9:30 AM). We would love to have you join us.
• If you already have a church, you know what to do . . . Plug into everything your church is doing during Holy Week and join in the celebration.
• If you don’t have a church . . . Find one! Contrary to what you hear, the majority of churches out there are filled with friendly people who (just like you) are looking for answers to spiritual questions and a deeper encounter with God. Sure, there are some crackpots out there but for the most part I think you’ll be surprised by what you find.

Christus resurrexit!

Hearing Diesels Hummin’

People Get Ready has to be one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs. It’s got that rootsy blues kind of sound that makes you feel at home in this world and optimistic about the next one at the same time. The opening lines of the song go something like this:

People get ready, there’s a train comin’
You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin’
You don’t need no ticket you just thank the Lord.

All you need is faith . . . Sounds easy, right? It isn’t. In fact, sometimes having faith feels like the hardest thing you’ve ever done – especially when you have absolutely no reason to think that the things you’re hoping for will ever really come to pass.

And yet faith is the antidote to the fears & anxieties so many of us feel these days. So a week ago, I challenged our church to fight their fear & anxiety by exercising their faith in a very practical way. The challenge was to fill bags of groceries to be donated to the local food pantry. Each family was supposed to think about how many bags they could afford to donate – and then add one more. The last bag was their step of faith.

Our goal was to fill 100 bags – not bad for a church our size.

We collected the bags at church yesterday and surpassed our goal about 1/2 hour before church started. In the final tally, the congregation filled more than 275 bags of groceries for the needy in our community – almost three times the goal we set for ourselves.

Throughout yesterday’s church service, people were upbeat . . . excited . . . even exuberant. It was a big day for our church and for everyone who participated in the food drive.

All it took was a little FAITH. Almost 300 families in our community have a little more hope . . . The food cupboard has more food than they know what to do with . . . And the sound of humming diesels is getting louder and closer than ever before.

I think that’s a sound I could get used to . . . Can you?

Theology & Time Warner

Yesterday, Time Warner announced a new pricing plan for their internet access service (RoadRunner) in Rochester. While their current pricing plan includes unlimited internet access, the new plan will be based on usage. The more you use it . . . The more you’ll pay for the privilege.

Time Warner says they need to change their pricing in response to increased demand for bandwidth (movie & music downloads, online gaming, etc.). Makes sense to me . . . But I think it does raise some interesting questions about how we treat internet access:

(1)  Should access to information be a commodity?

Time Warner’s new pricing plan is Economics 101: As demand for a commodity increases, so does the price. But should access to information via the internet be treated as a commodity? Or (in this increasingly technological age in which we live) should internet access be regulated to guarantee availability for average working people?

Before you answer, consider this: When I applied for college (over 20 years ago-EGADS!), universities had a blind admission process. In other words, the ability for applicants to pay in cash was not a consideration in the admission decision. Today, blind admissions are dropping left and right. If a student’s parents can pay in cash instead of relying on the university’s financial aid resources, the student stands a much higher chance of being accepted. Is it right? Probably not . . . But that’s what can happen when information/education becomes a commodity.

(2) Is internet access becoming a basic necessity?

Most people would consider home internet access a luxury. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is anymore. Before you protest too much, think about everything you do – or could do – with online access.

• WORK: There’s a good chance you’ve used the internet to do work from home sometime during the past month. Without internet access, you wouldn’t be able to do that – and you could find yourself at a disadvantage in the workplace. Some parents rely on the internet to work from home and if they didn’t have it, they would be forced to place their kids in daycare – if they can afford it.
• COMMUNICATION: The internet is quickly replacing the telephone as the primary way many Americans communicate. A lot of people I know would rather send an email than pick up a phone. You could say that’s a personal preference, but if you didn’t have internet access you would be limited to communicating to people who still prefer the phone . . . And you might be surprised how little it rings.
• EDUCATION: I’m blown away by how much my kids use the internet for school-related functions. Almost everyday, at least one of my daughters’ homework assignments requires online research or activity. If we didn’t have internet access, I’m confident their grades would slip and they would start to fall behind their peers.
• NEWS: Maybe I’m unique, but nowadays I get my news almost exclusively from the internet . . . No, not from blogs, but from legitimate news sources (CNN, FOX, MSNBC, BBC, Reuters, Drudge, etc.). If I didn’t have internet access, my ability to stay informed about current events would be seriously impaired. I could start subscribing to the local newspaper, but it wouldn’t be the same.

(3) Are we too dependent on internet access?

The big question we should all be asking is whether or not we’ve become too dependent on the internet. The more thoroughly we integrate the internet into our daily lives, the more we depend on it to perform basic, daily tasks. Eventually our need becomes so acute that we start to behave like addicts . . . Willing to pay any price to satisfy our needs and cravings. Sadly, this fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by companies like Time Warner who provide internet access. If we’re not careful, they could become the future equivalents of big oil companies.

The Psalmist says, “The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”  I interpret that to mean that everyone should have access to basic human necessities because it all belongs to God and in His world, everybody matters. It’s not only basic theology, but also basic economics in the kingdom of God.

If our society chooses to continue to integrate the internet into our daily lives – that’s fine. But if we make it a necessity, let’s make sure we keep it affordable so everyone has the same opportunities and the same access.

Surviving Jury Duty

A lot of you know I had jury duty yesterday. At the risk of ruining the ending, I’ll tell you upfront that I’m off the hook . . . Paroled from the halls of justice and once again causing mischief in the hallowed halls of the church.

Believe it or not, yesterday was the first time I ever had to show up for jury duty. I’ve received summons for jury duty before, but my number was always high enough that I wasn’t required to show up for service. It was an interesting day and I left thinking that everyone should have to do jury duty at least once. Apart from being your civic duty, here’s why jury duty should rank high on your list of things to do before you die.

Jury duty is a great deterrent.

One of the big arguments about the U.S. penal system is whether incarceration is an effective deterrent for crime. Without getting into an argument about it, let me just say this: The jury pool definitely has a shallow end and if everyone spent a few hours with the group of people who could decide their fate, the crime rate would plummet. The day started off badly as several of my fellow prospective jurors got lost in the seemingly simple maze of the line queue upon entering the building. Eventually everyone made it and we were directed into the central jury room where officials gave us very clear instructions about what to do and when to do it. The court system really couldn’t have made it any easier.

Most of us got it, but some jurors (more than a few) spent the day walking around in a daze — showing up 30 minutes late for court, walking past the “fenced off” area of the courtroom to saunter in front of the judge’s desk, etc. When the guy sitting next me told me that if he knew he would have to wait around so much he would have brought a flask of whiskey with him, I immediately decided to religiously follow the straight & narrow for the rest of my life rather than risk placing my destiny in the hands of my peers.

The criminal justice systems works . . . slowly, but effectively.

Jury duty involves a lot of waiting. When they finally usher you into the courtroom, your pulse quickens and you get the feeling that things are finally going to get interesting. Then (after waiting another 20 min to an hour in the courtroom), the judge comes out and tells you to come back two hours later. And so you wait some more until finally the judge comes back out and tells you that the case has been settled and you’re free to go. Although it feels like a big waste of time – it isn’t. You see, while you were waiting things were happening behind the scenes. Your presence as in the jury pool provided the catalyst for the attorneys to reach an agreement without taking the case to trial.

So what did I learn?

• When I went into jury duty I was determined to find a way to get out of actually serving. But the more time I spent with the other jurors, the more open I became to the idea of sitting on a jury. If everyone who has something better to do heads for the door, then the only people who serve on juries will be people who don’t have anything better to do. That’s not how the system is supposed to work . . . Not to mention the fact that it could place our legal system in the hands of people who consider a flask of whiskey as a worthwhile way to pass time on a Monday morning.

• But jury duty also reminded me that sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing at all. Sure, the waiting was annoying. But while we were waiting, things were happening behind the scenes. That’s also true about life. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to slow things down and smell the roses. Although it might not feel productive, you’ll get a lot accomplished because behind the scenes God will use that time to recharge your batteries, reorient your priorities and recast your perspectives.

They tell me I won’t be eligible to serve on a jury again for six years . . . And although I can’t believe I’m saying this, I can’t wait.