Christian Civility

Carol and Mitch with the Carters

Mitch — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:37:50 +0000

Carol and I made a trip to Plains, Georgia to hear Jimmy Carter teach Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church on March 7th. The eighty-five year old former president stood during the entire lesson and used no notes. He asked questions and responded to the answers. There were people from around the world in the small church. Mr. Carter made the cross that hangs behind the pulpit and also four wooden offering plates. The Carters take turns with other members of the small congregation doing routine tasks around the church. Mr. Carter has been teaching Sunday school since he was eighteen years old and continued while governor of Georgia and as president. It was a wonderful experience for us to be in the presence of a man who has dedicated his entire life to making life better for people all over the world and at the same time remembering who he is and the small rural town that helped to shape him.

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Pope Urges Ethical Unity on Issues

Mitch — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:20:21 +0000

Pope decries growing ‘aversion’ to Christianity, urges Christians to unite on ethical issues

Jan 25, 2010 14:17 EST

ALESSANDRA TARANTINO

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a Vespers ceremony at St. Paul outside the walls’ Basilica in Rome, Monday, Jan. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

He urged Christians to overcome their differences through dialogue so that they can unite their efforts to influence debates in society on ethical issues like abortion, euthanasia and the limits of science and technology.

Benedict was leading a Vespers service in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls to mark the end of a week that the Vatican each year dedicates to prayers for Christian unity.

The pontiff has made better relations among Christians an important aim of his papacy.

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Striving for the Greater Gifts

Mitch — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:13:32 +0000

January 21, 2010

Striving for the Greater Gifts

The Apostle ends 1 Corinthians 12 with the following exhortation: “But strive for the greater gifts.” As summation of his discussion of how the many members of the Body of Christ can work together and as prelude to the beloved next chapter on love, St. Paul knows that sustained unity amidst diversity taxes even the best among us. At the first hint of conflict persons nervously move away from one another, fearful of what might damage the relationship. Yet they ensure that the relationship will be damaged by refusing to enter into transformative conflict. The most mature relationships are characterized by conflict, not forced unanimity which subjugates one party to another.

Richard P. Olson, Distinguished Professor of Pastoral Theology at Central, has recently published Love Letter to a Conflicted Church. He offers distilled wisdom from over 40 years in pastoral ministry on how to engage conflict constructively. He writes: “…there are redemptive and transforming possibilities in conflict. Through conflict a person can become more self aware, articulate, and personally empowered. Not only that—one can learn to see the other as a human being, a child of God, one with struggles and needs much like one’s own. Indeed, redemption can happen in conflict when one obeys Jesus to love both neighbor and self” (p. 21). These are words to live by, indeed to “fight” by. I commend his insightful work.

Another scholar I respect, Mitch Carnell, a Baptist layperson in Charleston, S.C., has issues a clarion call for a different kind of discourse than what populates the varied radio and cable news talk shows. In his book Christian Civility in an Uncivil World, he suggests that a challenge greater than the political arena may be in bringing people of faith together to practice the way of civility. The purpose of his book is “to explore ways for people of faith to talk to and about each other in a way that glorifies God and advances God’s kingdom” (p.14). Our stewardship of words matters.

While I am not sure what all the Apostle had in mind when he referred to the “greater gifts,” surely he was urging the Corinthians (and those who listen to the epistle today) to learn how to live with others respectfully. In Pauline theology, one of the functions of the Spirit of God is to assist persons in bearing the strains of their differences in a constructive way. Learning to “speak the truth in love” and not “to think too highly of oneself” are grace gifts worth striving for in our day.

Molly T. Marshall

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Taking on Civility – Thomas C. Fox

Mitch — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:34:16 +0000

Published on National Catholic Reporter (http://ncronline.org)

Taking on incivility By Thomas C. FoxCreated Nov 30, 2009

E.J. Dionne Jr., in the Washington Post [1]today writes that “the most surprising and disappointing aspect of our politics is how little pushback there has been against the vile, extremist rhetoric that has characterized such a large part of the anti-Obama movement.”

I concur. It is disappointing, especially when one believes that civility is a mark of a mature democracy and should characterize U.S. politics.

Dionne explains: “Republican politicians, worried about future primary fights, have been reluctant to pick a fight with a radical right that seems to be the most energized section of their party. Their ‘moderation’ has consisted of a non-benign neglect of the extremists and of accusing the president merely of ’socialism.’”

Meanwhile, John Gehring, media director and senior writer for the Washington-based Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good has contributed to a book on the subject of civility, Christian Civility in an Uncivil World. The book was recently reviewed in the Post and Courier newspaper [2]in Charleston, SC.

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Blessed and Loved

Mitch — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:16:52 +0000

Did you feel blessed and loved when you left your house of worship this past week-end? Did you feel up-lifted and ready to face a new week of challenges? You would have if you had been at First Baptist Church of Worcester, Massachusetts, this past Sunday. The Rev. Dr. Thomas R. McKibbens delivered an inspiring sermon, “Claiming the Voice.” McKibbens, who is one of the contributors to the newly published book, Christian Civility in an Uncivil World, declared, “We are blessed. We are a blessed people and it is important that you and I recognize that we are blessed. The word, ‘benediction,’ means blessing. It literally means, ‘good words.’ To bless someone means to say good things about them. We all need to know that someone is saying good things about us.” When we greet one another, we are wishing good for each other. It is more than a passing greeting. It is a blessing. We are blessing each other.”

Dr. McKibbens was the speaker for the celebration of the 325^th anniversary of the First Baptist Church of Charleston, South Carolina, the oldest Baptist Church in the south. He held the congregation in the palm of his hand. He mixes the right amount of emotion with his explanation of the Scriptures to capture the attention of his listeners and involve them in the learning and growing process.

In his chapter, “The Pastor as Friend; Civility in Practice,” in Christian Civility in an Uncivil World, he not only demonstrates his pastor’s heart, but also his knowledge of the history and practice of pastoral counseling. He discusses, Ministry as Therapy.” McKibbens is also the author of, The Forgotten Heritage: A Linage of Great Baptist Preaching. If that book were being written today by a different author, Tom McKibbens would be one of those preachers profiled.

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