Christ in the Ozarks Fellowship

Christ in the Ozarks Fellowship Christ in the Ozarks Fellowship is an ecumenical community that focuses on giving thinking-people a forum to discuss important life issues.

Christ in the Ozarks Fellowship is an ecumenical community that focuses on Bible study and education, philosophy, ethics, and theology with a goal of being open to people who seriously want to encounter God and themselves and have serious conversations about life’s questions and issues.

05/03/2017

I think that I will start to post my musings here... for those who might be interested in the thoughts of a slightly in-sane person who does way too much thinking....

Free Will is the idea that each person has the capacity and responsibility to make their own decisions and choices in life and, as a result, each person suffers the blessings or consequences of those choices or decisions. From a limited perspective, each of us chooses to individually be moral. For example, in my Free Will, I choose to do what is right and avoid what is wrong. I cannot blame someone else for my own decisions. I am in charge of my ultimate destiny (in religious language...whether I am going to heaven or hell.)
The opposite of Free Will is Determinism. Determinism is the idea that we don't have Free Will because all that happens has a precipitating cause that is ultimately outside of our control. Whether it is our genes, our brain structure, our environment, our culture, our family of origin, (and the list goes on), etc., life happens to us and we have very little to say about it. Our lives and life in general is determined by forces outside of our control. In religious parlance, Determinism, by any other name, is predestination, or providence, or Divine Will. From a religious perspective, we and our decisions are all part of a Divine Plan and it is God who knows us before we were born and how our lives will unfold and turn out. It is the idea that we really don't freely choose anything. We simply respond to the choices that are laid before us, therefore our choices are ultimately determined by the options we have. Our options are limited because we are limited by our biology, the culture, our upbringing, fate/chance and luck. There is no such thing as pure Free Will for a Determinist.
So to recap: Free Will places the responsibility for moral actions squarely on the shoulders of each person. Since we have the Free Will to choose, then we must take responsibility for our words, choices and actions, ultimate destiny, etc. Determinism, on the other hand, says that we cannot be held responsible because our words, choices and actions are truly outside of our control and simply caused by some other forces of nature or situations that lay outside of our control.
Without going into the nuances of causal determinism, chance/fate/luck, or the compatibility or incompatibility of Free Will and Determinism, for the purposes of this little essay, suffice it to say that, in most regards, as people steeped in modern theology, philosophy and science, we struggle with the differences between Free Will and Determinism and how they apply to our own personal choices and decisions. We wrestle with responsibility and accountability in the context of the Free Will/Determinism discussion.
It would be great to have the question settled, "Are we totally responsible for all that happens to us and by us?" This is one of the issues that the Free Will/Determinism discussion addresses, or at least offers for discussion.
Here are some questions and examples: "If a person commits a crime, is he or she totally responsible for the commission of the crime?" "Is the person acting as a free moral agent or being controlled by his or her life, biological, mental state, hormones, genetics, chemistry, or chance circumstances?" "What about a person with a genetic abnormality in their brain?" "Are they really responsible for their actions, thoughts or decisions?" "Does this apply to a criminal?" (We do have a provision in our penal code for someone who is criminally insane and who lacks to ability to discern right from wrong, moral from immoral.) Or another example: "Is a person who grows up in a family where abuse, alcoholism, drug abuse and/or sexual perversion are the norms, really responsible for not having a sense about what love is, how to be in a relationship, or whether they even have the capacity to choose to treat people in a loving way?" "Is it their fault that this is their environment and they know no other?" "Can this person freely choose to be loving, when they have no concept of what loving is all about?" Unpacking these and many more related questions will inevitably cause us to conclude that perhaps we have Free Will (we have the ability to set our own course and make our own decisions and be held responsible and accountable,) but then again, perhaps life is actually determined for us (even if only at the microscopic level), and we are simply "puppets" responding to luck/fate/chance, genetics, or environmental issues over which we have no control.
I think most of us are caught in a quandary. We are pulled in two opposing directions and my sense is that both might actually be both right and wrong. (Not helpful, I know...but reality.) I think that sometimes we lean on Free Will and other times we gravitate towards Determinism.
This brings me to why I am writing this missal about Free Will and Determinism. I think that most of us in the US would hold that elected officials are responsible for their actions, words and decisions. Most would say that politicians are not simply responding to their personal circumstances, or their up-bringing, or chance/luck/fate, or a pre-determined scripted course of history or reality. On the other hand, there are many people who believe that politicians are simply playing a part in the Divine Plan and subject to predestined plans that are outside of their control.
(As an aside and as a Calvinist Christian, I was steeped in the notion that there is a Providence, a Divine Plan and pre-destination (pre-determined outcomes and events. I had an aversion to those who held to Free Will Christianity and argued vehemently against such heresy. Frankly, I have moved from certainty to uncertainty on this view. Some would say... from certainty to confusion, but I will let you judge this.)
I suspect that depending on where you fall on the Free Will and Determinism spectrum, you will find the decisions of our elected officials totally acceptable or otherwise odious as they align with your notion of Free Will and/or Determinism. Are our elected officials morally responsible for what they say, do or decide to do or are they simply passive victims of their biology, the culture, pressure from constituents, luck/fate/chance and/or world events? If so, then you might lean towards the notion of Free Will. Do their moral decisions create their circumstances (Free Will) or are they simply living the implications of their circumstances (Determinism)? Are they to be held culpable for what they do? (Free Will). Do these officials get a "pass" because they are new at the game of politics, have some sort of defects over which they have no control? (Determinism) Are these officials to be held accountable for their own generated "fake news," "alternative facts," alternative reality, "spin" or even outright lies? (Free Will or Determinism). "Do politicians who do not know truth from fact, given more latitude in their decision-making? (Free Will of Determinism)
Most of us would say that elected officials are, in fact, responsible and should be held accountable for what the say and do (Free Will), except if it is obvious that there is something over which they have no control, ie. biology, luck/fate/chance, culture, mental or physical illness (Determinism.) On the other hand, are they really responsible if there is no such thing as Free Will and everything is Determined, pre-determined, providential, causally-related or of the Divine Will? In this case, they would have no responsibility and really we should not hold them responsible or accountable. (Hopefully we have elected people who are not mentally, physically, genetically, "psychopathically," "narcissistically," "sociopathically" ill to hold elected office.) But what if they are? Can and should we hold them responsible and accountable?
So where do you fall on the Determinism-Free Will spectrum? My bet is that this will give you a clue as to how you evaluate the culpability of not only our elected officials, but yourself. If it does, perhaps it should. For me, I struggle between the two and perhaps this is where my cognitive dissonance arises... or perhaps I am simply disagreeable and confused.

09/16/2014

My daughter gave me a wonderful Christmas and Birthday gift. She bought tickets and a hotel room for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game this past weekend. It was wonderful! We were right behind home plate. In the midst of 46,000+ other fans we experienced an exciting Cardinal victory in its march to the World Series.

The fans at this game were very focused on the game. They came from all walks of life and communities throughout the country. The fans were racially varied.

What struck me as important, from a social perspective, was that neither before, during, nor after the game were people rude to one another. There were no racist comment. There was no inflammatory rhetoric. There were no political signs or street "preachers" or hawkers (other than those selling game day tickets.) There was no violence, tear gas, or police in riot gear. The bulk of these fans were focused on the Cardinals game and cheering their team on to victory. Everyone whom I saw, was cordial, adult-acting, and happy to be at the game and communion with other fans and their team.

Why was this odd? Because just 12 miles north of Busch Stadium, was the town of Ferguson, MO... the seat of huge conflict, political and racial tension. Just 12 miles! My bet is that there were people from Ferguson at the game. I know that there were people of all races, languages, ethnic backgrounds at the game. And you know, we got together, celebrated why we were there, enjoyed a wonderful afternoon and game, cheered on our team and behaved respectfully towards one another.

Ahh that we could all do the same when the stakes are so much higher!!

Perhaps we need to have our community, business, political and religious meetings at Busch Stadium... all wearing the same colors, focused on the same issues, all pulling for the team, and acting respectfully. (Perhaps $8.25/bottle of beer might help too!)

09/08/2014

A dear friend and I were talking the other day about the church. Being a Pastor's wife who had experienced Seminary and various calls in small and medium size churches during her husband's career, she made a very profound statement. She said, "Instead of spending three years in Seminary learning theology, pastoral care, polity, church history, and Christian education, your time would be better spent learning theater arts, public speaking, stage craft and marketing." She said with a glint in her eyes, "It seems like this is what people want and not all of that other stuff. You can always tell them to 'Google it' if they have a serious theological question."

Hmmm, I thought. This certainly, on the face of it, seems to be the case... at least from my own personal experience. I got more comments about what I was wearing: my hair style; the hymn/song selection being too easy or difficult, too modern or too ancient; my homiletical delivery style; or the misprints in the bulletins than about what I had actually during the sermon or how people connected with God in the worship service. One person recently told me, "Mark, I have heard 100s of sermons and can't recall one of them, but when you showed a video in worship, that really made me angry.... not the message of the video, but that we had a video in worship."

Has the task of the Pastor deteriorated to that of an entertainer? Is Sunday a success if it elicits a feeling of euphoria as demonstrated by people clapping their hands and singing a catchy refrain? Is it really about the ease or "catchiness" of the songs and not their embedded theological meaning? Is choir and congregational singing no longer praying twice but an aspect of "the performance" for those sitting in the pews? Do the jokes help keep people awake rather than help drive home a profound insight about the Divine-human relationship? Are kids sermons simply another part of the marketing plan to get parents and grand parents to ooh and ahh as little Johnny or Susie parade forward for public display? Has the one hour on Sunday become the place where people get their individual and personal "religious fix" instead of corporately and collectively expressing praise to God?

Yep!! Perhaps my friend was right. Perhaps Pastors need to be trained entertainers, because the Lord knows this is what the people seem to want.

09/05/2014

Small things become huge when they become symbols.

A church I served had a long-standing debate about whether or not, at Easter, there should be live or plastic flowers adorning the sanctuary. One faction said that live or cut flowers symbolize new life, beauty, nature and the centrality of the created in helping to understand the Creator. An opposing faction said that plastic flowers symbolized the same thing but did not die, were less expensive, and offered healthful benefits for those with seasonal allergies. Who won the argument?

The naturalist, live, cut flower faction won the day, but not for the reason you might expect.

You see, there was this choir director who had severe allergies to live flowers to the point of anaphylaxis and hospitalization should she come into contact with the pollen. Even those flowers that were cut and whose stamen had been extracted posed a significant health threat to this woman.

I suppose if she was a beloved choir director, the outcome might have been different. But she wasn't. She garnered universal dislike because of her "soprano" or "diva" personality in dealing with the congregation and the choir. To many, she used the health "trump card" as a way of controlling the congregation and pushing her own agenda. She had come to symbolize what was oppressive about the church.

So for many, the real non-public issue wasn't really about whether the adornments should be live or dead. It was really about the choir director and what she symbolized to the congregation. Sure folks wrapped their arguments in the culturally acceptable symbolic interpretation, but the unstated reason for spending nearly 6 months debating and fighting over the Easter flowers was not that. The congregation and its leadership cared less about the short or long-term impact on health of this woman who would be required to stand by the flowers or miss the Easter cantata, than about communicating who was really in control of the choir and the congregation... and it wasn't the choir director. And this faction "won." The choir director did not lead the choir on Easter.

Such a little thing... but not really! This brief drama that unfolded over nearly a 1/2 of a year highlights that whenever there is a disproportionate response in a particular situation, this means that there is more to the story or the situation than what was the obvious or stated issue. The unstated story may have nothing to do with the presenting story or issue. it has to do with symbols and what they convey.

The symbolism of reigning in the choir director by subordinating her health issues to the desires of the choir and the congregation's leadership took precedence over the rich symbolism of live or cut flowers. And the point was not missed. The congregation divided, feelings were hurt and the choir director left the church. A new, less controversial, and some would say, less controlling choir director was hired.

Ahh the power of symbols... even surrounding those small things. Just remember whenever there is a conflict, it often is about symbols and most of the time, there is more to the story.

08/29/2014

The First Presbyterian Church of Berryville, AR was a small rural church. A room had a sign that stated "Pastor's Study." The phone book listed the "Pastor's Study, Presbyterian Church" as the number to contact if a person wanted to know anything about the church. Clearly the expectation was that the Pastor would study and that the congregation expected the Pastor to be academically and intellectually engaged and informed in the ministerial leadership of the church.

Faith Presbyterian in Raytown, MO was a small church in the suburbs of Kansas City. The sign read, "Church Office." In order to contact the Pastor a caller must call the Church Office. Clearly the expectation was that the Office was the locus and focus of church business.

Bull Shoals Presbyterian Church, another small rural church in AR, had a sign that simply said, "Office." Not just church business but apparently other entrepreneurial activities were to reside in this small space. The expectation was that the church should first and foremost be a business... accounting and investing wisely, property management was key to its self-definition, regular hours of operation with the Pastor seated consistently in his office at the previously agreed upon times.

I heard recently that a major mainline denomination was embracing a "corporate model" of church leadership. I was fascinated to hear this and I am concerned as well. Will the Pastor's focus be that of administration rather than a ministry of presence? Will he or she be the Chief Executive Officer with "hatted" subordinates sitting in their cubicles doing their assigned tasks? Will there be a Board of Directors instead of a Session, Vestry, or Council? Will there be shareholders and not congregants? Will a black bottom line be the determinant of success? Will the Pastor have performance objectives and standards to meet each month that show the number of souls saved or BIPs (Butts in Pews)? Will a marketing strategy replace personal evangelism?

An actual sign hanging outside a door says so very much. It conveys a symbolic meaning that goes beyond mere words. A sign or a label sets the stage, tone and expectations for what people come to want from the organization and its leadership. Signs convey priorities... subtle and overt. Signs define roles, relationships, responsibilities, and rights. Signs can be symbols of what does on or is expected to go on "inside."

I wonder if this movement towards a "corporate model" is what Jesus had in mind in Matthew 28:16-20. Is the modern church abandoning its primary organizational genetic expectations of being the "ecclesia"... the "called out," the "set apart," the people called to love God and love neighbor, first and foremost... before organizational titles, bottom lines, BIPs, governance functions, and marketing.

Perhaps these symbols REALLY do tell what the modern church has come to be and do. And that, my friends, is a real shame!

08/27/2014

Measuring Up
By Mark Lenneville

Saturday inspections, shoes in line, bed taut
Tortuous coronet scales
Classes punctuated by bells, recess, trips to the office
3 sets of 10, rest, 3 sets of 10, rest
One lap, two laps, then three...again and again
Drills... fire, tackling, spelling, blocking
Tests.... driving, courses, mid-terms, finals, SAT
Measure up?

Up at 6, stand on the wall, formation, inspection, march, chow,
Class
Formation, marching, inspection, crap-outs, chow
Homework
Lights out,
Up at 6
Measure up?

Work at 6
Run 6
Lead 6
Work 6
Study 6
Sleep 6
Measure up?

Courtship, marriage, kids, job, school, careers,
Awards, medals, promotions, advancing,
Bills, houses, boat, cars, savings
Obligations, responsibilities, deadlines,
Getting ahead and keeping up
The grind, schedule, routine, plan, regimen,
Measure up?

Unhinged, disconnected, chaotic, disorderly, confused
Retirement....
Measure up?

08/18/2014

Symbols.... it seems like I am spending a lot of time talking about symbols, doesn't it? I think that this is because I cannot overstate the importance of symbols and their impact on our views of God, life, others, society, and relationships.

Symbols are the vehicles through which we find meaning. Symbols and their variant meanings and interpretations are the origins of conflict. Agreeing with and understanding of the variant symbolic meanings and the values that are placed on these symbols can be sources for healing and peace.

This is an example: Whether or not the preacher reads the Scripture passages from an iPad or whether he or she holds up a hard copy of the Bible, the symbolic meaning of the Bible can be a source of angst or solace.

Is the physical Book as important as its contents? Are the contents of the Bible as important as its concepts and message? Depending on the symbolic importance you place on the Bible, its words and its content will determine if, in conversation with another person or group, there is angst or peace.

I live in a part of the world where people of faith... well intentioned and deep faith... often lapses into Bibliolatry. This is the worship of the Bible... the Book... over and against the worship of God. In this cultural context, the physical Book takes on mythic and sacred value akin to God. Like the Koran, which is viewed by the Muslims as the Sacred text of God in whicha re found the actual Arabic words of God , the Holy Bible can, in some literalist's views take on that same symbolic quality and its worship can become idolatrous if taken to extremes. The Bible and/or the Koran/ or for that matter any important text (ie, Constitution, Bill of Rights, the laws of the land, etc) can become an object of worship. For the Bible this idolatry extends to its worship as long as the Bible is a certain version of the Bible which has been translated into a certain language and adheres to a certain theological or ecclesial perspective. Therein lies one of my points of critique of fundamentalists, their view of the inerrancy of the Scriptures and their need for a literal interpretation.

The Bible is very symbolic. This is important to acknowledge. The same with the Koran and any other important text. But as soon as we elevate it to an object of worship and sacred veneration, unexamined through the reality of its composition, transmission, and human influence occurring over millennia and through varying ancient cultures and languages, we have encapsulated or boxed the Bible in obstructed the richness of its symbolic possibilities.

More on symbols later.... Symbols roles in conflict as well as peace.

08/14/2014

When I was a Chaplain in the Army, I would often perform worship services with the tailgate of a truck, a rock, or a camp table as a makeshift pulpit. Typically, I would don my clerical stole over my uniform. The issued black stole covered up my rank, name and any military badges. When I put on this stole, I saw myself no longer as being just another soldier but being a religious leader with a special role... a role to lead others in their worship of their Higher Power. This shaped what I said and what I did as a religious leader and as a Chaplain.

When I preached in a church, I would don my black clerical Geneva robes or my white robe. I would wear my stole signifying my office as an ordained minister...someone called by the congregation to perform this special role in the life of the community. Each time I put on this garb, I said a prayer that I might be authentic to what I was called to do and be as I led the community in worship. I often wore a special cross that I inherited from my mother. This cross reminded me of our relationship. It also reminded me that, just like my mom who was a successful and creative water colorist, that I needed to be creative and that I needed to call on the creative God to help me as I led the congregation.

One church I served did not want me to wear the stole or the robes. I honored its request, but always wondered if my understanding of these symbols was the same or different than those who sat in the pews. I wondered if, at some point, the congregation and/or its leaders, interpreted those specific symbols of robes and stoles not as religious symbols intended to set apart the leaders, the community and the Sunday activities as Holy, but as symbols of exclusivity, power, control, the past, hypocrisy of clergy, or the undesired formality of the Divine-human relationship. Perhaps this was the reason these symbols should not be worn.

Our lives and especially our religious lives are filled with symbols. These symbols help us see beyond the actual tangible "thing" to a greater reality... if we allow them to speak to us.

I wonder if the church actually hasn't created its own sense of modern cultural and ecclesial irrelevance because it has reinterpreted its core symbols. I wonder if the church has moved away from what happens on Sunday as Holy drama, to the mundane, the common, the ordinary, and the created. The evidence of this shift, which I think has happened, can be found in the shifting meaning of its symbols.... presence or lack thereof of: crosses, tables, choirs, liturgy, prayers, clerical robes, stoles, sacred texts, name tags, theologically meaningful songs, music, children and aged, disenfranchised, cameras/videos/tv screens.... and a whole host of other symbols.

Yes, I am calling us to examine the symbols of our religious lives. What do they mean? Have the changed? Are they relevant today? What are the new symbols that help us set apart our lives to live in the presence of the Holy on Sunday and every other day of the week?

Symbols are so important. They help us understand life and its meaning. They help us make transitions... leaving, unhitc...
08/12/2014

Symbols are so important. They help us understand life and its meaning. They help us make transitions... leaving, unhitching, unfettering, from the past in order to live in the present.

This past Sunday, I took nearly 2000 paper sermons and nearly 1000 files and burned them. They were consumed by a white hot fire. They went up in smoke. It took 7 hrs to burn them all. My file cabinets are empty.

Symbols are so important. they help us understand life and its meaning.

More about symbols to follow.

08/08/2014

So this will be a shorter reflection that I hopes brings some of my thoughts together.

If art... music, sculptures, photography, writing, painting, drawing, dancing, acting are symbols of a reality beyond themselves, is it any wonder, if we allow it, these can help us find meaning in life. the key is to not over analyze any of these... which is our Enlightenment, modern, rationalistic, first-world tendency... but enjoy this art for the meaning it brings to life and living.

If you desire to find the meaning in life and the meaning in your life, embrace the rational, but live into the ascetic, the creative... the art of life.

08/07/2014

So bear with me here.

Plato had a huge influence on how we view the world and particularly our Christian faith, heaven and hell. Just to recap... Plato said that there are two primary realms... The realm of the forms (that place where perfect, uncorrupted, eternal, idyllic things, beings, and the gods exist.... It wasn't until later that neo-platonist said that at the center of this realm of the forms is God... simple, unchangeable, complete... perfect. The physical realm is where the imitations of the realm of the forms exist. So the physical realm is the realm that is imperfect, incomplete, transient and temporal. This is where we live as the human beings. Since we live in the physical or temporal world we can gaze on or long for the realm of forms or gaze on or long for the physical or material or created world. This is our choice but what Plato says that the higher good is for us to long for and focus on and seek... in our actions and thoughts... the Perfect which found in the realm of the forms. You can probably see the connection between Plato and the religious life.

I have been pondering this Platonic notion of the cosmos as it relates to symbols and what symbols do for us to help us understand life's meaning. I think that when, as members of and participants in the physical realm, we see through the physical to the realm of the forms, the physical object becomes a symbol because it points to the perfect form, the unchangeable, immutable, constant...the Divine. Tillich implies, symbols help us make sense of our lives. Since we can only access the physical meaning is grounded in the physical, temporary, finite, imperfect simply because it all that we can access that mediates or points to a reality beyond itself. Meaning in life and the meaning of our individual lives, therefore, is not about trying to figure out what the external God has predetermined it to be according to some Divine or cosmic plan, but is determined by what we see, finitely, partially, imperfectly through the material symbols that point to the Divine.. the Other... the immaterial, unchanging, perfect. Nietzsche, materialists, and existentialist would be proud and support this line of thinking. Nietzsche, especially would be proud because he says that art and music... and our very creative nature... because of their symbolism, are what provide meaning to human existence... and not God or that which is external to us.

But what about people of faith? If we say that the meaning of life and my life particularly is found in a clearer, deeper and more profound understanding of God... Who God is, What God does... And as Christians we find that meaning from and in relationship with God. One of the shifts that was made in early Christianity was that God is not "out there" in the realm of the forms but interior to us. We know the meaning of life by gazing inward to the God within. The physical symbols point us to the Interior God (Plato's realm of the forms). This is why contemplation, meditation, reflection and embracing the physical... in other words gazing on the creation... has been so important. By gazing on the material, concrete, the created (the realm of the physical) and being open to its symbolic value and what it tells us about the Divine within, has been so important.

So... Plato influenced the Christian mystics. He influenced how we, as ordinary people of faith, have come to find meaning in life and in our individual lives. He has given us guidance and frankly probably didn't even realize it because God being within us ... interior to us... was not in his frame of reference. Plato has allowed us to lift up that which is created... the material, concrete, tangible, finite, temporary because it can point us to the Divine.

BUT, we must keep in mind that since the way that we find meaning (through symbols) in life, it is subject to being the "created" which is in a constant state of flux. Perhaps all we can ever know about God, or perhaps all that we can experience about God is simply temporary and imperfect and constrained and subject to change. So as science, ecology, government, language, culture changes we must be open to how these changes impact our relationship and understanding of God.

Your thoughts???

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